I Don't Have A Choice (But I Still Choose You)
by myeveryday
Summary: When Felicity Smoak was four years old, she decided that she was going to marry Oliver Queen. AU
1. you only know what i want you to

**I'm developing a thing for doing Arrow AU stories. I can't help myself!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The story title comes from the song "Poison and Wine" by The Civil Wars.**

* * *

 **one.**

Felicity Smoak was four years old when she decided that she was going to marry Oliver Queen.

Felicity's father was best friends with Oliver's father, so she grew up with him. He was eight years old and he was basically Felicity's hero. She followed him around whenever she could, and he let her, so of course that only made her like him more.

Oliver spun the lacrosse stick he was holding in his hand. Robert Queen and Eli Smoak were having a meeting at the Queen mansion, so of course that meant Felicity insisted on tagging along so she could see Oliver. He told her that he was going to practice lacrosse in the grounds, and he offered to show Felicity.

Oliver smiled when he saw Felicity's blonde head ducked over a book. "Are you sure you don't want to play, Felicity?" Oliver asked.

Felicity looked up from the book she was reading and looked uneasily at the lacrosse stick. Even though she was only four years old, she knew that she wasn't very athletically inclined. Still, she set her book aside and accepted the lacrosse stick that Oliver held out to her.

"I promise it's not that hard," Oliver told her. "I play with Tommy all the time."

Tommy Merlyn was Oliver's other best friend. He was kind of annoying in Felicity's opinion, but he was always around so she put up with him. So she followed along with Oliver's instructions until she kind of got the hang of it, and then stood in front of the goal post that was set up.

"Maybe we should practice more," Felicity suggested. She brushed her curly blonde hair out of her eyes and tried to stand the way that Oliver showed her.

Oliver scooped up one of the balls. "It'll be fine, Felicity," he said. "Are you ready?"

Felicity had barely nodded her head before the ball came flying towards her. She tried to move the lacrosse stick the way Oliver had taught her to, but it slipped in her unpracticed hands and the ball ended up hitting her smack in the forehead instead.

Felicity cried out in pain and clutched at her forehead. Her eyes watered due to the force of the impact, but she was trying her very best not to cry. Oliver was right there in front of her, gently pulling her hands away from her head.

"I'm so sorry, Felicity," he apologized. He was trying his best not to be panicked, but he was only eight years old and his friend was hurt. The angry red mark forming on Felicity's forehead was kind of scary, but Oliver's first course of action was to make sure that Felicity wasn't hurt too badly. "I'm so, so sorry."

Felicity sniffled and wiped at the tears coursing down her cheeks. "It doesn't hurt too much," she said.

Oliver studied the mark before he leaned forward and pressed his lips lightly to her forehead. Felicity blinked in surprise, her tears suddenly forgotten. She looked up at him with wide blue eyes, and he gave her a reassuring smile when he realized she had stopped crying.

"What was that for?" Felicity asked in a small voice.

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "Raisa kisses Thea's boo boos when she gets hurt," he said. He took her little hand in his and began to pull her back towards the mansion. "Now let's go find Raisa. She might have some cookies for us."

Oh yes. Felicity Smoak was definitely going to marry Oliver Queen.

* * *

 **two.**

Turning her head from left to right, Felicity inspected her reflection in the mirror. She sighed and pushed her hair away from her forehead. It totally didn't help matters that she was having a bad hair day, so her frizzy hair didn't help her appearance at all.

With another long, drawn-out sigh, she snatched the glasses off of her face and attempted to make out her blurry features in the mirror. Felicity slid the glasses back onto her face when she realized that it was no use. She was stuck with the glasses.

Felicity was thirteen years old and she was going to be starting the ninth grade with glasses. This was not how she wanted to enter high school.

There was a knock on the door, and the last person she wanted to see or hear spoke. "Felicity? It's me, Oliver. Can I come in?"

"Um, no," Felicity stated. She could feel her cheeks heat up, and she knew that if she looked in the mirror she would see her cheeks flame red in embarrassment. "You absolutely cannot come in."

On the other side of the door, Oliver chuckled. "Come on, Felicity. Let me see. They can't be that bad."

Felicity groaned. "Oliver, trust me when I say that they are that bad. Have you ever known me to lie before?"

"Lie? No. Over exaggerate and be very dramatic? Yes."

Felicity yanked the door open in order to level a glare at Oliver. "I resent that," she snapped. She was in no mood for Oliver to be cute—or, as she liked to call it, extremely annoying.

Oliver looked supremely proud of himself, and Felicity realized that, as he usually did, he got exactly what he wanted. Due to her need to prove Oliver wrong, she had opened the door and inadvertently revealed her new glasses to him. "See? I told you they weren't that bad."

Despite her resolve to be mature about the whole issue (she had made herself a promise when she left her appointment to get the glasses earlier that day), Felicity huffed and stomped her foot. "Oliver, I look like a dork!" she exclaimed. She suddenly felt like she was about to cry, but she refused to feel bad about it. She was thirteen years old and about to enter high school—that was a good enough reason as any to cry.

"You do not." Reaching out, Oliver adjusted one of Felicity's frizzy blonde curls. Felicity tried to ignore the way her heart skipped a beat. Oliver Queen was way out of her league, and it didn't matter that she had had a crush on him for as long as she could remember.

"Felicity."

Felicity jerked out of her Oliver-induced day dream and was immediately embarrassed at the way her cheeks heated up once again. "Yes?"

Oliver tapped the corner of the frame of the glasses. "Don't be embarrassed. The glasses work for you."

Felicity shyly pushed the glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Okay," she finally said. "Okay. They're just glasses."

"That's right." Oliver nodded encouragingly at her and grinned. "And if anyone says anything, I'll kick their ass." Oliver was a senior at the very prestigious Starling Academy. Felicity had gained early admission; she probably could have even skipped to sophomore year, but she didn't want to miss out on her high school experience.

Ha. She was kind of regretting that decision now.

The only reason Oliver was even still at Starling Academy was because the Queen family made several hefty donations a year. Plus, Felicity had managed to convince him to stick it out long enough to graduate because she would be there.

"Oliver Queen," Felicity admonished. "Violence is not the answer. You can't get into any fights this year. You don't want to get expelled before you graduate!"

Oliver shrugged. "It'd be worth it for you."

Felicity rolled her eyes but hugged her best friend anyway. And the next day, when she saw Oliver threaten some guy that teased her, she didn't yell at him… that much.

* * *

 **three.**

Felicity smoothed her hands over her dress and turned from side to side. The skirt swung around her legs, and Felicity watched it sparkle. It was a pretty dress, that was for sure. Her hair and makeup were perfect, and for once, Felicity didn't feel like an awkward sixteen year old.

She was going with a group of friends to prom, and she knew that she was going to have fun tonight. They had all decided not to try and find dates, because it would just be so much more fun to go together and not have to worry about entertaining dates. They would all be arriving at Felicity's house in the next half hour in order to take pictures.

The floor-length skirt of her strapless tulle gown allowed Felicity to wear flats instead of heels. There was no way she was going to try and navigate a dance floor on the sky-high heels her friends were sure to be wearing. Instead of the bright colors that Felicity normally wore, she picked a dress that was a beautiful gray color. The fact that it sparkled every time she moved definitely made up for the lack of color.

Eli was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with a camera. When he caught sight of his daughter, he immediately started clicking away. The bright flash of the camera surprised Felicity, and she almost tripped over a step.

"Dad!" Felicity protested. "Can you at least wait until I get all the way down the stairs before you try and blind me?"

Eli snapped another picture for good measure. "I have to capture this moment, Felicity. This is very important!"

Felicity rolled her eyes but she smiled anyway. Eli had gone all out for the night of prom. Their chef was preparing all sorts of cute little finger foods for the girls to eat before they left, and Eli had ordered flowers to place around the foyer for the pictures.

"Dad, this is perfect," Felicity said. She hugged him tightly. Sure, he had been a bit of an absentee parent at times, but he had pulled out all of the stops for this moment and Felicity could appreciate that.

Eli grinned at his daughter. "That's not all. I have one more surprise for you." Turning, he gestured to someone who was in one of the sitting rooms.

Felicity was surprised when Oliver Queen came into the foyer, dressed in a tuxedo. All Felicity could do was blink a few times. He was so handsome that it was actually unfair.

Chuckling, Eli nudged Felicity. She started and exclaimed, "Oliver!" The young man in question grinned and hugged her tightly.

"Hey, Felicity," he greeted. "Surprise!"

Pulling back, Felicity hit him in the chest. "Shouldn't you be at Harvard right now?"

"Um…" Oliver rubbed the back of his neck and refused to look at Eli, who had started laughing again. "I might have gotten kicked out."

" _Oliver!_ "

"What? It just happened last night. My dad doesn't even know yet."

"Well apparently my father knows what happened, but I'll let it go for now." Felicity hugged Oliver again. Given that he just got kicked out of yet _another_ Ivy league school, she figured that he needed it. "What are you doing here? And don't think I haven't missed the fact that you're wearing a tux."

Oliver tugged on Felicity's ear playfully. "No wonder MIT accepted you early decision. You have such astute observation skills."

"Shut up." Felicity batted his hand away but couldn't keep the beaming smile off of her face. "Seriously, what's going on?"

Oliver tucked his hands into his pockets and suddenly looked very sheepish. "Well, I knew your prom was coming up and I figured you could use a date. When I called your dad, he said that you were going with a group of friends, but I thought that I'd come and surprise you anyway."

Felicity suddenly felt like the four year old little girl that had been madly in love with Oliver Queen. She was so touched by this sweet gesture that for a moment she thought she was going to cry. She blinked hard and threw her arms around Oliver's neck, hugging him once again.

To cover up her sudden rush of emotions, Felicity said, "Come on. I know you're really just here to make up for the fact that you didn't go to your own prom."

Oliver shrugged his shoulders, but that didn't stop the smirk from forming on his face. He and Tommy had skipped their prom entirely and ended up getting drunk and throwing a big party at the mansion. Felicity knew because she had received a very drunken phone call in the middle of the night. At fourteen years old, it had been quite amusing for her.

"Come on," Eli said. "Let's get a few pictures of the two of you together before the rest of your friends get here."

Felicity posed for pictures with Oliver at her father's direction. With the last one, Oliver spontaneously kissed her cheek. In that moment, Felicity decided all over again that she wanted to marry Oliver Queen.

* * *

 **four.**

"Okay, well what about Stanford?"

"Can't. I got kicked out of that one last semester."

"Brown?"

"Nah, they already told my dad that they heard about my reputation and they weren't going to let me in."

"Columbia?"

"That's the first place I got kicked out of, remember?"

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Oliver, you're only twenty-one. How many universities have you been banned from?"

Oliver grinned and took a sip of scotch from the fancy crystal tumbler he was holding. "You know the answer to that question, Felicity."

"Well yeah, of course I do. Your dad talks about it with mine all of the time. He says he's running out of Ivy leagues to send you to." Felicity rolled over on Oliver's massive four-poster bed and pulled one of the fluffy pillows under her head. They had chosen to spend the night in the mansion, and Oliver's room was the only place they could find any privacy.

"I know." Oliver snorted and took another long pull of scotch from the glass. "Maybe he'll finally get the hint."

Felicity ignored that comment. "Have you thought about Yale?"

Oliver smirked. "I was banned from ever setting foot on that campus again, so I doubt they would allow me admission." He held the tumbler out to Felicity, and she took it with a skeptical look firmly in place on her face. "It's the good stuff, Felicity. Try it."

"That's what you said the last time I tried scotch." She swirled the amber liquid in the glass and wrinkled her nose. Oliver had always been the big partier, not her. Felicity had spent many a night picking up a drunken Oliver from different parties and clubs, so she had decided to hold off on the alcohol until she at least got to college.

Felicity only had one more month until she headed off to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was a little anxious about the fact that she had just turned seventeen and was headed off to college, but she knew it was the right thing for her to do. She had finished high school early, and she was eager to start the next chapter of her life.

Still, thinking about being on her own for the first time in her entire life stressed her out a little bit. So she took a sip—albeit a small one—of the scotch.

Speaking of… "What about MIT?" Oliver suggested. "I'm sure both of our fathers could pull a few strings and get me in there."

Felicity promptly choked on the scotch and just barely kept it in her mouth. It would have been quite embarrassing to spew the very expensive scotch all over Oliver's equally expensive bedspread. When she finally managed to swallow, she managed to get out a surprised, " _What?_ " between hacking coughs.

Oliver grinned at her, and then Felicity noticed that his eyes were sparkling. "I'm kidding, Felicity. You're going to be great at MIT. You don't need to worry about me while you're there. You already had to deal with that in high school."

Felicity did help Oliver a lot in high school. It wasn't that he wasn't smart—Oliver was actually pretty brilliant. But he didn't want to put the work in, and he had some trouble focusing, so Felicity would often sit with him while they did homework. Of course, there was also how she basically babysat him when he went out and partied. It only got worse once he went to college, but Felicity didn't really mind.

There was more to Oliver Queen than the partying playboy image he put out for everyone else in Starling City. He just needed to believe in himself the way that Felicity did.

"Oliver…" Felicity began, but she was interrupted when the door to his bedroom swung open.

"Oliver, where are you?" The voice of Laurel Lance cut through the easygoing atmosphere between Oliver and Felicity. "I've been waiting downstairs for twenty minutes!"

Oliver looked at his watch, cursed, and then snatched the crystal tumbler away from Felicity. He threw the rest of the drink back and then turned around to face his girlfriend. He managed a small smile, and Felicity chose that moment to try and become invisible by sinking into Oliver's lush bedspread.

"Laurel—" Oliver began, but she already interrupted him.

"The movie is going to start in ten minutes. There's no way that we're going to make it in time." Laurel crossed her arms over her chest, taking up a defensive position that Oliver had seen from her plenty of times. Laurel's gaze fell to Felicity, and her face softened a little. "Hello, Felicity."

"Hi Laurel," Felicity muttered. She had also been witness to several fights between Oliver and Laurel. They had been dating on and off for over a year, and they spent a good portion of that time fighting. "It's kind of my fault Oliver got held up. I'm a little nervous about leaving for school, and he was just helping me out."

Laurel smiled at Felicity. When she had started dating Oliver, she had easily accepted that one of his closest friends was a teenage girl with a tendency towards all things nerdy. Laurel never had a problem with Felicity, so it wasn't like she could hate her.

"Don't worry about it, Felicity," Laurel said.

"We'll just go to dinner instead," Oliver suggested, and Laurel nodded his head. He sent Felicity a small smile in thanks, and the younger girl gathered up all of her notebooks and waved before leaving.

Like she said realized before, Felicity couldn't hate Laurel Lance. But that didn't mean that she couldn't be extremely jealous of the fact that she was dating Oliver.

* * *

 **five.**

"Damn it!"

Felicity attempted to juggle her bag, her textbooks, and her cup of coffee while simultaneously reaching for her phone. She wasn't succeeding very well, however, and one of her books and her coffee were perilously close to tumbling towards the ground.

Deciding that saving the coffee would be the best course of action, Felicity let the textbook slip from her grip. She nudged it towards the bench off to the side of the path and managed to answer her phone before the last ring.

"Hello?"

"Felicity? It's Oliver."

Felicity was so surprised by the familiar voice on the other end of the line that she nearly tripped over the textbook she had dropped. "Shit!" she exclaimed involuntarily.

"Felicity, are you okay?"

Felicity managed to right herself just in time. "Yeah," she said into the phone. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just tripped over a book. No big deal, it happens all the time. So." Felicity took a deep breath in order to put a pause to her rambling. "To what do I owe this call? It's been a while since I've heard from you."

"Yeah, I know." Oliver sighed heavily. "I'm sorry. I've just been so busy with Laurel and the move and everything else…"

"Ah yes, everything else. Have you been arrested for anything else lately?"

"Shit. You heard about that?"

Felicity laughed at that. "Of course I heard about it, Oliver! You weren't exactly subtle. It's been all over the tabloids. I bet your father is thrilled."

"Of course he is," Oliver said. "He's threatened to cut me off. Again. So, you know."

They fell into a somewhat tense, uncomfortable silence. Things were fine during her first year at MIT. She went back for every break and it was like her and Oliver had never been apart. He even came up to visit her twice.

Then Felicity started her second year, and her workload doubled. Oliver started dating Laurel again after yet another one of their breaks, and he and Felicity just kind of stopped talking. They both got too busy and their phone calls got further and further apart. They stopped talking all together when Felicity was unable to make it back for Thanksgiving break.

"Oliver. Why did you call?" Felicity finally asked.

There was another long pause. "I miss you," Oliver said in a quiet voice. "I miss you, and I'm sorry."

Suddenly, Felicity felt tears burning in her eyes. Her voice was shaky as she spoke, and she tried to get a grip on her emotions. "I know," she whispered. Clearing her throat, she swiped her fingers under her eyes. She didn't want to be the weird girl crying on the park bench. "I'm sorry, too."

"My dad wants me to get more involved with the company," Oliver revealed. "So he's making me go on this trip with him. We're taking the new yacht."

"Sounds fancy," Felicity said. "But it could be fun. It could be like a vacation."

"Maybe," Oliver agreed, but he sounded doubtful. "Anyway, we're leaving in a week. There's going to be a big going away party. I was wondering if you might be able to make it."

Felicity smiled. "I'll definitely try to make it."

* * *

 **six.**

A distant ringing sound reached Felicity's ears. She was in the middle of a deep sleep, so she wasn't entirely sure if it was part of her dream or not. When it happened again and it was louder, Felicity knew that her phone was actually ringing.

Without lifting her head, Felicity slapped her hand around on the tabletop of her nightstand. Finally, her fingers hit her phone and she swiped across the screen to answer it before she lifted it to her ear. Her head was still pressed to her pillow, and she managed to grunt, "Hello?" into her phone.

"Felicity."

Well, she certainly hadn't been expecting to hear her father's voice. Sitting up, she pushed her messy blonde hair back from her face. It was only three o'clock in the morning, and that thought alone made Felicity's heart thump wildly in her chest. Why was her father calling her this early in the morning?

"Dad?"

"Something… something happened, Felicity."

"What is it? What happened?" When Felicity's father didn't respond right away, she let out a frustrated noise and threw one of her pillows across the room for good measure. "Dad!"

Eli let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Felicity," he said. "But it's Oliver. And Robert. There was a storm and—"

"No."

"—something happened to their ship—"

"No, no, no!"

"And they haven't recovered any survivors. I'm sorry."

Eli was still talking, but Felicity stopped listening. The phone slipped from her hand and she could do nothing more than stare off into space as she heard her father's words in her mind over and over again.

She couldn't cry, but she couldn't breathe, either. Felicity clutched at her chest as she tried to catch her breath, and her vision blurred. It felt as though the whole world was collapsing around her, and she didn't know how to handle it.

The only thing Felicity could think of was that she had never made it to the going away party. She had never regretted something so much in her entire life.

* * *

 **seven.**

Felicity wasn't even listening to the speeches. It was a bright, sunny day—an odd contrast to the somber air of the double funeral for Robert and Oliver Queen. Felicity clutched a white lily in her hand and tried desperately not to crush it in her fingers.

Oliver's funeral felt like some weird, out of body experience. Moira Queen was sitting at the front with her eyes hidden behind huge, dark sunglasses. Thea, Oliver's little sister, was in tears. They were big, sobbing, gasping tears that broke Felicity's heart—but she couldn't think of a way to comfort her.

Laurel was there with her father and her younger sister, Sara. There was an appropriate feeling of mourning with the Lance family, but there was also an unbearable air of tension. It turned out that Oliver had also been seeing Sara on the side while he had been with Laurel.

That made Felicity wonder when she and Oliver had grown apart. Over the past year, so much had happened in his life that she didn't know about. Oliver Queen may have been her best friend, but did she actually know him anymore?

And now she would never get to know what she missed.

Pushing those thoughts from her mind, Felicity instead stared down at the white lily in her hands. She twirled the flower slowly between her fingers, and all she could think about was how Oliver never really seemed like that kind of person who would want lilies at his funeral.

Eli put his hand on his daughter's shoulder, and Felicity wished that she could feel some type of emotion. But ever since Eli had told her what happened, she had been oddly numb. She hadn't cried once, and she kind of hated herself for it.

The funeral was over before Felicity knew it. They headed back to the Queen mansion, where they were having a big, fancy dinner. Felicity hung around Thea for most of the night, which she knew the younger Queen appreciated. Thea was only two years younger than Felicity, and she had a feeling that they would be spending a lot more time together.

Reaching over, Felicity took one of Thea's hands in hers. Thea sniffled loudly and wrapped both of her arms around one of Felicity's in return. She rested her head against the blonde's shoulder and the two young women simply sat in silence.

Felicity couldn't imagine a day that would be worse than this.

* * *

 **eight.**

 _*Five years later*_

Spinning around in the chair at her desk, Felicity tried her best to ignore the young woman bouncing around in the door of her office. Of course, Thea Queen was not easily ignored. She waved a bag from a very fancy boutique in front of Felicity's face and pushed aside the tablet she had been working on.

"Hello, I just bought you the most _gorgeous_ dress." Thea shook the bag to make her point. "And I have the perfect shoes to go with it. So we're going to go back to the mansion, Raisa is going to make dinner for us, and then we're going to get ready and we're going to have an awesome night out."

Felicity sighed and eyed the bag. Thea did have an impeccable taste in clothes, and it was super tempting to look into the bag. Then again, a night out with Thea was always interesting, if not a little crazy. Thea perched herself on the corner of Felicity's desk and grinned. She knew that she was going to convince Felicity to go out tonight.

"Please, Felicity? You're twenty-three, I can actually legally drink now, and we're hot. We should definitely go out tonight. _Please_."

Shutting her laptop, Felicity reached for the bag and peered in at the dress. It was actually pretty tame to the dresses that Thea typically bought for going out. It was made of flowy, chiffon material that had a blush colored skirt and a black top. It was an adorable dress, really.

"This seems kind of dressy to be going out in," Felicity pointed out.

Thea rolled her eyes. "Okay, so there's this benefit they're having at the mansion. Mom said I had to make an appearance and I'm making you come with me so I don't suffer from boredom. Then we can go out."

Laughing, Felicity dropped the dress back into the bag and shut off the rest of the machines. "Since you did buy me this dress, I suppose I can go." Thea clapped her hands together, but Felicity held her hand up to stop any further celebration. "But if we have to sit through this benefit, we're breaking out the good bottle of wine. Not the stuff that your mom likes to serve to the investors she doesn't like."

"Duh, I already have a bottle picked out. Now let's go! I wasn't kidding when I said Raisa is going to make dinner for us. I convinced her to go off menu. We're eating nachos tonight!"

Laughing, Felicity followed Thea out of her office. Sometimes, being friends with the daughter of the CEO had perks. Given that it was almost five o'clock, no one really minded if Felicity left early anyway. Still, no one bothered to say anything as the two young women left.

Sometimes, Felicity couldn't believe that she worked at Queen Consolidated. She started off as a part of the help desk team in the IT department. Eli Smoak was still working with Moira as part of the board, but Felicity had insisted on getting the job without any help from her father. Since graduating early from MIT, she had worked her way up and was pretty close to making a promotion as one of the managers of the IT department.

"Lis, let's _go_!" Thea exclaimed. "I have to pick out my dress for tonight!"

* * *

 **nine.**

Ducking into the kitchen, Felicity poured another glass of wine for both her and Thea. She was feeling pleasantly buzzed, and she wanted to keep this feeling going the whole night. She snagged a cucumber sandwich and popped it into her mouth before she headed back out to the benefit.

Thea met her in the entranceway to the dining room. She accepted the glass of wine from Felicity and downed half of it in one swallow. "Okay, we're going to finish this glass and then we're going to head out to the club. Sound good?"

Felicity giggled and nodded her head. She took a long sip from her own glass of wine and glanced around the room. There was string quartet playing classical music, and everyone was wearing floor-length ball gowns. Felicity and Thea looked a little out of place in their cocktail dresses (Thea's was made entirely out of black sequins), but there were there for the free booze and food.

Someone was missing from the room, however. Felicity looked around for Moira Queen. She should have been there talking up the investors with her husband, Walter Steele. Poking Thea in the shoulder, Felicity asked, "Thea, where's your mom? We should at least find her and say goodbye before we leave."

Thea huffed out a sigh and downed the rest of her wine. "If you insist."

Felicity finished the rest of her wine as well, and then they were off to find Moira and Walter. They searched all of the places they normally found Moira during benefits—the dining room, the ballroom, the kitchen, by the bar—but she was nowhere to be found.

Finally, they found her with Walter and the family doctor in her office on the second floor. Thea, of course, didn't waste any time in announcing her presence as she burst through the double doors. "Mom, Felicity and I are going out tonight—" She stopped speaking abruptly when she realized that her mother's eyes were filled with tears. "Mom? What's wrong?"

Whatever they were expecting Moira to say, it certainly wasn't what ended up coming out of her mouth. Moira sniffled and wiped her fingers under her eyes, even though her perfect makeup hadn't been messed up yet. Moira grabbed Walter's hand and took a deep breath

"Thea, they found your brother. They found Oliver."

* * *

 **ten.**

Felicity was glad that she and Thea had downed all of that wine, because she was certain that was the only thing keeping her sane right now.

As soon as Moira had broken the news, they had all been whisked away in a town car that was headed towards Starling City Hospital. Felicity hadn't bothered to protest her tagging along with the Queen family, because she knew that Thea needed her right now.

There were already media crews setting up camp outside of the hospital, so the Queen family (plus Felicity) were let in through one of the hospital's back entrances. They were let into a wing that had been closed off, as Walter had called ahead to set up security. He spoke with the head of the team that he had hired as Moira was speaking to the doctor that had initially seen to Oliver when he first arrived in Starling City.

Felicity grabbed Thea's arm before she could go bursting into the room they were holding Oliver in. "Thea, I'll just wait out here for you guys. I'll be right here if you need me, okay?"

Thea shook her head, and her eyes shined with tears. Grabbing onto Felicity's hand with both of her own, Thea said, "Are you kidding me? You're coming in there with me. There's no way I can do this on my own, and God only knows that my mother won't be much help." She squeezed Felicity's hand and managed a small, shaky smile. "Besides, do you think any of us have forgotten how you and Oliver were practically inseparable growing up?"

Felicity's mouth open and closed, but she couldn't really think of an argument. Instead, her eyes fell to the door they were standing in front of. Oliver Queen was behind that door. Five years ago, Felicity thought that she would never see Oliver again. Now here they were, and Felicity was facing a moment that she didn't think was possible.

"Okay," Felicity whispered. Holding Thea's hand tightly in her own, she nodded her head and together they stepped towards the door. Moira and Walter joined them, and a beat of unbearable, tense silence passed. Then Moira pushed the door open, and they stepped inside.

Despite the fact that Oliver had spent the past five years on some deserted island (that's what they were reporting, anyway), he wasn't lying down in the hospital bed. He wasn't even hooked up to any of the machines. Instead, he was standing up and facing the window. His back was turned towards the door, but his shoulders tensed in such a way that suggested he knew that he was no longer alone in the room.

"Oliver?" Moira whispered.

Slowly, Oliver turned his head. When he caught sight of his family, he made his lips move into something that was supposed to resemble a smile. But there were deep, angry lines in his face that kind of canceled out the effect of the smile.

Moira gasped and threw her arms around Oliver, hugging him to her tightly. Oliver slowly raised his arms and hugged his mother in return. It kind of look like he had forgotten how to hug, honestly. Moira was talking a mile a minute, but Felicity wasn't paying much attention. Instead, she watched as his eyes found Thea.

Felicity took the opportunity to nudge Thea forward. Oliver patted his mother on the back, signaling the end of the awkward hug. Thea stood in front of her older brother, watching him with wide, uncertain eyes. Oliver held his arms out, and Thea ran straight into them. There were tears streaming down her cheeks, but she pressed her face to her brother's chest in an effort to hide them.

Speaking for the first time, Oliver whispered, "It's okay, Speedy." He gently stroked the back of her head, holding her as she cried. It was almost like she was a little girl again and she running to her brother to make her feel better. She could almost pretend that no time had passed at all.

Deciding that she had been hugging Oliver long enough, Thea pulled away and stepped aside. Suddenly, there was nothing standing between Oliver and Felicity. She blinked at him, unsure of what to do about Oliver's sudden entrance back into her life.

Oliver's mouth opened and closed. He scrubbed a hand over his face, blinked, and then said, "Felicity?"

Felicity was suddenly aware of how gravelly and deep Oliver's voice was. Licking her lips, she realized that she was unable to speak. Instead, she nodded her head and wondered if there was anything right to say in this situation.

Then, without realizing it, Oliver and Felicity somehow ended up in each other's arms. He was holding on to her and she was holding on to him, though neither knew who made the first move. His strong arms were wound tightly around her, and Felicity found herself pressed against a wall of hard muscle that she somehow fit against anyway. Oliver pressed his face into her neck and Felicity closed her eyes, holding on to him for dear life.

* * *

 **eleven.**

"We're going to have a party!"

Felicity and Thea rolled their eyes simultaneously. "Tommy, are you serious?" Thea demanded. "Oliver just returned from five years stranded on some god forsaken island. Do you really think a party is the best thing right now?"

Tommy Merlyn snorted. "Please, Thea. When have you ever passed up a good party?"

"Well, never," Thea admitted. "But something tells me that Oliver won't be in the mood for a party, you know?"

"Thea, come on." Tommy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed reassuringly. For good measure, he ruffled her hair and Thea tried to push him away. "When have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Plenty of times," Thea deadpanned.

Felicity laughed and shook her head. Tommy Merlyn really was something else, that was for sure. When Oliver had first disappeared, no one had heard from Tommy for almost three months. Then, all of the sudden, he had shown up at the Queen mansion and had crashed Thea and Felicity's movie night. Over the past five years, Tommy would randomly appear and either join in on what Thea and Felicity were doing or convince them to do something completely crazy. There was never a dull moment with Tommy around.

Felicity had been so caught up in her thoughts that she missed it when Oliver walked into the room. When he took a seat next to her on the couch, however, she immediately became aware of presence.

Of course, Tommy didn't waste any time in informing Oliver of his plans for the weekend. "Friday night. We're having a party at the club to celebrate your return from the dead."

"Tommy!" Felicity exclaimed. Honestly, couldn't he have just a little bit of couth?

The corners of Oliver's mouth tilted up into the ghost of smile. "It's okay, Felicity," he said. "It's been five years, but I'm still used to Tommy being an idiot."

Tommy grinned. "It's true. Not much has changed, bro. At least in regards to that, anyway."

"So what club is this?" Oliver asked. He leaned back against the couch and stretched his arms along with back of it. Felicity immediately took notice of how close his fingers were to her shoulder. "Did you finally achieve your dreams of opening a club for your debauchery?"

It was almost just like old times. Oliver and Tommy spent more than their fair share of time throwing jabs at each other, and Tommy, for his part, wanted to make Oliver as comfortable as possible by staying with the familiar.

Tommy chuckled. "It's not my club, actually," he explained. "Thea opened it a year ago and it's still one of the hottest places around. She must be doing something right."

"Really, Thea?" Oliver was visibly surprised by this information. "You opened the club?"

Thea shrugged her shoulders and tried to pretend like it wasn't a big deal. Really, though, she was proud of what she had done. In the first few months after Oliver had died, Thea had made it her mission to get in as much trouble as possible. It was only after one particularly scary incident that Thea decided to get her act together. She did better in school and then took several business courses before she began the process of opening the club.

"Felicity helped me put the business plan together," Thea explained. "And Tommy brought all of his douchey friends that like to party. So I had a lot of help."

Oliver reached over and squeezed Thea's shoulder. "Still, it's a lot to be proud of. I wasn't exactly building businesses when I was twenty-one."

The small group fell silent. When Oliver was twenty-one, he had partied as much as he could, slept around, and got kicked out of several Ivy league universities. He was living the life of a billionaire playboy bachelor. Looking at him now, five years after everyone thought he was dead, it was clear just how much that had changed. This Oliver Queen was a completely different man from the one that had disappeared.

Tommy cleared his throat, and the tense, sad silence was broken. "So this party. Friday night. Everyone be there, and you should all probably be a little drunk when you arrive. It's going to be a wild night."

* * *

 **twelve.**

"Thea, there is no way I'm going to wear this dress!"

Thea rolled her eyes. Sitting up, she slipped on her black leather pumps and adjusted the straps of her backless red dress. She was ready for this party—she had even prepared by taking two shots of some very expensive vodka. She grabbed the glass of champagne she had been sipping on and snagged the bottle as well. Felicity was definitely going to need some more if she was going to relax enough to come out with them tonight.

"Felicity, just shut up for two seconds and come out here so I can refill your glass. And so I can see you in this dress."

Felicity sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. She grabbed her empty glass and pushed open the door to the bathroom. She held out the glass and Thea filled it up while giving an approving nod at Felicity's appearance.

"Lis, you look fine," Thea said. "Now put the shoes on, take a shot, and let's go."

Felicity gulped down half of the glass of champagne at once. Thea had talked her into wearing a slinky black dress that fell to mid-thigh. Tiny straps held up the shoulders, and there was an overlay of intricate black sequins that sparkled with her every movement. The dress was gorgeous, but it just wasn't something that Felicity was used to wearing.

Her hair was twisted up and away from her face and her makeup was much darker than usual. Thea patted Felicity on the back and handed her a shot glass filled with clear liquid. Felicity knocked the shot back, chased it with the rest of the champagne, and slipped her shoes on.

"You look great. Oliver isn't going to know what to do when he sees you," Thea stated with a knowing smile.

Felicity gaped at her so-called best friend. "Thea! Seriously?"

"What? He may have been missing for five years, but I do know my brother."

Felicity could feel her cheeks heating up. "Do you realize who's going to be there tonight?" she demanded. "I doubt that Oliver will be paying any attention to me."

"Please." Thea rolled her eyes. "No one knows for sure if Laurel is going to show up."

"I can imagine she will. After all, her boyfriend is throwing this party."

Thea cursed and drank directly from champagne bottle. "I forgot that Oliver has no idea that Tommy and Laurel are together. Shit."

"Tonight should be lots and lots of fun, then," Felicity said.

Thea offered the bottle of champagne to her best friend, and she took it. "We're going to need so much more alcohol."

Half an hour later, they had arrived at Verdant. Tommy and Oliver were already there, and Tommy had done what every good best friend was supposed to do—he had ordered way too many drinks and already had several women surrounding them. When they caught sight of Thea and Felicity, Tommy put his fingers in his mouth and let out a high-pitched whistle.

"Look at the two of you!" He hugged both of them and kissed their cheeks in greeting. "Oliver and I are going to be busy keeping all the creeps off of you!"

Thea grabbed a drink off the tray and smirked. "Hey, this is a party. It wasn't like we couldn't show up wearing just anything."

Oliver, for his part, hadn't even spoken yet. He was staring at Felicity with parted lips and wide eyes. Felicity hadn't even noticed Oliver's reaction yet. She was trying to act as nonchalant as possible and refused to look anyone in the eye. The two of them were completely oblivious to the affect they had on one another.

Thea elbowed Tommy in the side and gestured between their two friends. Tommy smirked; he had been one of Oliver's closest friends for years. No matter how hard Oliver tried, Tommy knew that he harbored feelings for Felicity Smoak. Even though Oliver had insisted over and over again that he and Felicity were nothing but friends, Tommy knew better.

"Dude, you're staring," Tommy muttered.

Oliver managed to pull his eyes from Felicity and recovered by shooting a glare at Tommy. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Tommy snorted and took another sip of his drink. "Sure you don't." He snapped his fingers and a waiter immediately appeared at his side. Tommy ordered another round of drinks for the four of them and then guided the rest of the group towards a table.

Felicity adjusted the straps of her dress and crossed her legs, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. She could feel Oliver's eyes practically burning into her exposed skin, and she could feel her cheeks heating up. Felicity reached for her drink and took a long sip of it, hoping that the cool liquid would give her some relief.

"Careful, there," Tommy muttered with a smirk. He knew exactly what Felicity was doing and had no problem teasing her for it.

Felicity's eyes narrowed dangerously and she poked Tommy's shoulder. "Shut up," she ordered, and Thea snickered on the other side of her.

By the time the next round of drinks had been delivered to the table, Oliver got up to excuse himself for the bathroom. Felicity watched him go with her brows furrowed. She had no idea what Oliver had gone through the last five years, but it had obviously been a dark experience. There was a heaviness around Oliver now that had never been there before, and his three closest friends had no idea what to do or how they could help fix it.

"You look entirely too sad right now, Lis," Thea told her. She knew exactly what was making Felicity so upset, and she wrapped an arm around her best friend and hugged her tightly. "Come on, this is supposed to be a party!"

"I know, I know," Felicity said with a sigh. "I just can't help but think that…" She trailed off and shrugged her shoulders. So much had changed in their lives in such a short amount of time, and there were so many feelings that Felicity just didn't know what to do with.

"I know." Thea nodded her head in agreement. She spotted someone approaching them from across the room, and an evil little smirk spread across her lips. "But this night is about to get way more interesting."

Following Thea's gaze, Felicity's eyes went comically wide when she saw who was heading their way. It was none other than Laurel Lance, of course. Her dark blonde hair was falling perfectly around her face in messy curls, and she was wearing a tiny purple dress that made Felicity feel as though she was dressed for the prom. Thea frowned as she watched her friend shrink back into herself, transforming from a confident young woman to the same timid girl from high school.

"Stop it, Felicity," Thea hissed. "You know that you look hot tonight."

Felicity bit her lip and shook her head. "That's not the problem," she mumbled, even though it most certainly was. She refused to make eye contact with Thea, because she knew that her best friend would be able to see right through her.

Since Oliver still hadn't come back to the table, Tommy saw no problem in standing up and greeting his girlfriend with a kiss. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Laurel waved at Thea and Felicity over Tommy's shoulder. Felicity gave a small, half-hearted wave in return, and Thea barely lifted her arm to greet Laurel.

"How's it going so far?" Laurel asked. She slid into her seat next to Tommy and took the drink he offered her. No one missed how she downed half of it in one gulp; she was just as nervous to see Oliver again as the rest of them had been.

Tommy grinned. "It's not that bad. I mean, I don't think Oliver is really in the mood to party, but we're not having an awful time either." His gaze shifted to Thea and Felicity, his eyes softening. He knew how weird it had been for him to start dating Oliver's ex-girlfriend. Of course, Felicity hadn't exactly protested, and Thea hadn't reacted at all—she had kind of known that Tommy and Laurel would end up together. "It's not that bad, right guys?"

Thea took pity on Tommy and patted his head. "It's fine. I just don't think that Ollie is quite used to partying after being stuck on an abandoned island for the past five years."

"Yeah, it's fine," Felicity agreed quickly. She downed the rest of her drink and then slid out of the booth. She couldn't take another minute awkwardly sitting there with her new best friend, the guy she considered to be kind of pseudo big brother, and the ex-girlfriend of the man that she was in love with. Felicity just needed a moment to breathe, so she told them all that she was going to the bathroom.

Of course, Thea knew that Felicity was freaking out. "Do you need me to go with you?" she asked.

Felicity smiled reassuringly at Thea. She would be fine after a few moments to herself, she was sure. "I'll be okay," she said. "Don't worry about me." With that said, she disappeared into the throng of club-goers and headed towards the wall of windows that overlooked Starling City.

* * *

 **thirteen.**

Felicity let the slight buzz from the alcohol she had consumed earlier overtake her as she looked out the window. She hated that she felt so overwhelmed about this situation. Felicity knew that she should be happy that Oliver was back, and she was—it was just that all of the feelings she had spent years and years suppressing had suddenly come rushing back.

It was unnerving to have Laurel around, as well. Felicity knew that Tommy and Laurel were blissfully happy together, but that still didn't mean anything if they added Oliver back into the mix. While Laurel and Oliver had never had a very healthy relationship, Felicity knew that they had cared about one another very much. She had been there to see a lot of it herself.

Felicity took a deep breath and rested her forehead against the cool glass. She should just be happy that Oliver was back, and alive, and with them again. With _her_ again. She had known Oliver Queen for her entire life, and she thought that she had lost him. It was truly a miracle that he was back in Felicity's life.

Opening her eyes, Felicity scanned the rooftops of the city. Her eyes caught something moving off to the left, and she focused in on the object. It was… a person! A man in a hood was jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Felicity's eyes widened as she noticed how agile the man was. A gasp escaped her when she saw him aim a bow and arrow at the Verdant's roof. It landed and he rappelled from the roof he was standing on to Verdant.

Completely distracted from her previous thoughts, Felicity spun on her heels and cut her way through Verdant's crowded dance floor. She didn't know what was possessing her to find out who the man was that had rappelled to the roof of the club, but for some reason she really wanted to know.

Felicity had made it to the other edge of the dance floor and was headed back towards the offices when Oliver suddenly appeared in front of her. Felicity was so surprised that she smacked right into the open door of the bathroom. Oliver caught her by the shoulders when she bounced off the door.

"Oliver!" Felicity squeaked.

Oliver steadied her but didn't release his grip on her shoulders. "Hey, Felicity," he greeted. There was a small, barely-there smile on his lips, but Felicity managed to see it nonetheless. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Felicity managed. Really, at this point, she should just be used to the fact that she walked into doors and walls and other stationary objects. She'd been dealing with it for the past twenty-three years, after all. "I just thought that I saw… you know what, never mind." Felicity decided that she very well could have had too much to drink and could have imagined the man on the roof.

(Felicity honestly doubted that, but that was something she could deal with tomorrow. For now, she had Oliver standing in front of her, and she wasn't going to pass that up.)

Oliver's smile widened. He had known Felicity for almost his entire life as well. He knew exactly how clumsy she was, and he was actually glad that it was something that hadn't changed over the past five years.

"I can see that," Oliver said. Despite his earlier resolve, Oliver couldn't help the way his eyes swept up and down her outfit. Felicity's tendency towards all things clumsy may not have changed, but the way she dressed certainly had. Oliver wasn't used to seeing her look so grown up… and he definitely wasn't complaining.

Felicity blinked in confusion at Oliver's statement. She was incredibly aware of how he was watching her, and her cheeks slowly started to turn pink. After another long pause, Oliver squeezed her shoulders and finally released her.

"Let's head back to the table," Oliver suggested.

Felicity blew out a long, slow breath. "That's probably a good idea. And then I can order another drink."

Oliver snorted. "I bet that Tommy already has you covered on that one."

As Oliver and Felicity made their way through the crowded dance floor, Felicity concentrated very hard on not bumping into anyone. It wasn't exactly easy to dodge all of the tightly packed bodies. Suddenly, Felicity felt Oliver's warm hand on the small of her back. He helped to guide her through the crowd, and Felicity lost focus of the people around her. All she could think about was how Oliver's hand felt against her.

When their table came into view, Felicity came to an abrupt stop. Of course, Laurel was still sitting at the table, but what was even more interesting was that she was practically sitting in Tommy's lap. His arms were wrapped around her, and there was no mistaking the intimate way they were embracing one another.

Oliver stopped behind Felicity and took in the scene before him. Thea had noticed their arrival back at the table and was now looking between Oliver and Felicity and Tommy and Laurel. Oliver's hand was still on the small of Felicity's back, and his fingers curled into the material of her dress as his entire body tensed.

Felicity turned around and tilted her head up so she could look directly into Oliver's eyes. Unable to help herself, Felicity placed her hands against his chest and waited until he looked at her. Good lord, the man's chest was solid and well-muscled. Oliver had always been in good shape, but now his body was really something else. But she had to focus on what was happening at the current moment in time. She couldn't get distracted by how attractive Oliver was.

"Oliver," Felicity whispered.

Oliver finally looked down at her. His eyes were guarded, his face shadowed. Felicity really couldn't gauge how he was feeling, which was saying something; as his best friend, Felicity used to be able to read him like a book. She supposed that everything had changed over the last five years, including their friendship—and that was hard to accept.

Finally, Oliver's lips lifted slightly in something that wasn't quite a smile, but it wasn't a grimace either. He nodded his head once and slid his hand around to squeeze her hip. Tingles coursed through Felicity at the unexpected intimate contact, and she shook her head slightly. She really had to get a grip on herself when she was around Oliver.

"Are you going to be okay?" Felicity asked.

Oliver's face remained impassive. "Yeah, I'll be fine," he murmured.

"Do you need a drink?" Alcohol was definitely not the answer to their problems, but it would certainly help a little bit.

Oliver let out a sound between a snort and a laugh, which surprised both of them. "It would definitely help," he agreed.

Felicity snatched a glass of scotch off of the tray of a passing waiter and handed it to Oliver. "Drink up," she said, and then she looped her arm through his, and together they walked towards the table.

* * *

 **fourteen.**

"I should have said something to him."

Thea was hanging upside down on her bed and twisted her head so she could see Tommy. "Just let it go, Merlyn," she ordered. "What's done is done. You've been with Laurel for almost a year now. It's not like you can do much about it."

It had been both weird and oddly natural when Tommy and Laurel got together. First, it had been very ( _very_ ) casual. But then something changed in Tommy and he got serious about his relationship with Laurel. The two of them truly were happy together, and it didn't take everyone very long to accept it. After all, Oliver had been gone for four years at that point.

"I still should have told him," Tommy insisted. "I should have given him some kind of heads up."

"It's okay."

Tommy, Thea, and Felicity looked towards the doorway to Thea's room. Oliver was leaning against the doorframe. He was now dressed in a pair of plaid pajama pants and a white t-shirt, and the sight made Felicity want to change out of her restricting party clothes.

"Oliver—"

Oliver stepped further into Thea's room and held his hand up. "Seriously, man, don't worry about it. Laurel and I weren't even together when I went missing. And our relationship…" He shrugged his shoulders. "We weren't very good for each other."

Tommy and Oliver stared at one another for several long moments. While Oliver would always care for Laurel, everyone knew that he was right—they were fighting more often than not during the course of their relationship. It had been the final straw when Oliver cheated on her with Sara. More than that, it was like Oliver had been looking for a way to put a final end to his and Laurel's relationship, and sleeping with Sara had been the way to do it.

Thea and Felicity watched in amazement as some sort of silent conversation happened between the two friends. Then they both nodded their heads, clasped hands, and that was that. All was forgiven. The two girls shared a look and Felicity shrugged her shoulders while Thea raised an open bottle of champagne to her lips.

"Alright, are you two done being all bro-tastic, or whatever?" Thea demanded. "Because we need to start this movie."

Felicity bounced up from the foot of the bed and headed into the bathroom to change into her pajamas. When she emerged in a pair of shorts and a tank top, she missed the way Oliver's eyes widened. Of course, Thea and Tommy noticed.

"How long do you think it'll be before they crack?" Thea muttered.

"A week, tops," Tommy declared.

Thea smirked and held her hand out for Tommy to shake. "You're on, Merlyn."

* * *

 **fifteen.**

Thea was still fast asleep when Felicity woke the next morning, and Tommy was passed out on the floor in front of the television. Oliver was nowhere to be found, but that didn't surprise Felicity very much.

She rolled out of bed and stretched on her tiptoes. Felicity smacked her lips together to get rid of the feeling of cotton in her mouth. She wasn't quite hungover, but she wasn't exactly feeling one hundred percent, either. What Felicity really needed was some coffee.

Even within the vastness of the Queen Mansion, Felicity could smell fresh-cooked bacon. She threw a sweater on over her tank top and made her way downstairs. If she left the door open to Thea's suite, the smell of breakfast would surely wake both Thea and Tommy.

Raisa was, of course, creating a breakfast feast fit for a royal family. Upon seeing Felicity, the older woman pushed an extra large cup full of coffee towards her. Felicity gasped and beamed at Raisa.

"Raisa, you're a lifesaver!" Felicity exclaimed. She took a long, slow slip of the perfect coffee and nearly sloshed it all over herself when she heard someone chuckle. Turning, Felicity saw that Oliver was sitting at the other end of the counter.

"Oliver!" Felicity smiled brightly at him. "Good morning."

Oliver nodded his head towards the mug clutched in Felicity's hands. "I can see that you still love coffee as much as you ever have."

"That definitely hasn't changed," Felicity agreed. She took a seat next to Oliver at the counter and took in the spread that Raisa had created for them. There was eggs Benedict, lox and bagels, French toast, Belgian waffles, bacon, sausage, and what looked to be a build-your-own omelet station. "Raisa, are you feeding an army or something?"

Raisa pointed a spatula at Felicity. "Young Oliver hasn't had a meal like this in a very long time," she said. "He needs to be fed."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "I managed to keep myself fed," he muttered. "But I did miss the coffee." He had his own mug in filled to the brim with coffee in front of him, and Felicity noticed that he drank it black. He didn't used to—back when they had been in school, Oliver used to dump at least three packets of sugar and a ton of cream into it. "By the way, I'm not young anymore."

"You'll always be young to me, Oliver Queen," Raisa said. She pushed a plate overflowing with food towards him. "Now eat up."

Felicity pushed her lower lip out in a pout. "There's a plate for me too, right Raisa?"

"Of course." Raisa passed Felicity a plate with a bagel laden down with cream cheese and lox. There was a side of fruit and sausage to go with it, and Raisa even refilled Felicity's coffee cup. Given that Felicity spent as much time (if not more) at the Queen Mansion as she did at her own home, Raisa knew what her favorite breakfast was.

"You're the best, Raisa," Felicity said before she dug in.

The older woman smiled and, after she sent a knowing look Felicity's way, she left the two young adults to eat their breakfast. They sat in a somewhat comfortable, if a tad awkward, silence for several long moments. All that could be heard was the clinking of silverware on their plates. Watching Oliver, Felicity was pleased to see that he was already making a dent in breakfast.

"Were Thea and Tommy still asleep?" Oliver asked.

Felicity laughed and nodded her head. "Of course they were. It'll be at least another half an hour before Thea gets up, and it might take Tommy even longer before he deigns to grace us with his presence."

Oliver watched Felicity for a long moment. Felicity returned his gaze unflinchingly. She wasn't sure what he was looking for, but it didn't make her uncomfortable to have him study her like that.

"You've really gotten to know Thea and Tommy, haven't you?" Oliver asked. Of course, when they were younger, Thea would hang out with them, but she had often preferred to do her own thing. More often than not, Felicity would refuse to be around Tommy because his crazy party ways made her nervous.

Felicity thought on how much things had changed in the last five years. She and Thea had just kind of gravitated towards one another after Oliver's disappearance, and it wasn't long before they pulled Tommy into their little group. He had been adrift, and it hadn't taken long for Felicity to realize that there was a good guy under that party boy attitude.

"I really have," Felicity said. "After… everything… we just kind of leaned on each other." Reaching out, Felicity tentatively put her hand on Oliver's arm. "But you're back now."

Oliver didn't pull away from her, much to Felicity's relief. Instead, he kind of relaxed into her touch a little. "I'm back," he repeated. To Felicity's surprise, he took her hand in his own and laced their fingers together. Felicity beamed at him and to her surprise, Oliver smiled at her.

"What?" he asked when he noticed her wide eyes.

To Felicity's embarrassment, tears burned in her eyes. She squeezed his hand and blinked hard in an effort to keep them at bay. "I just missed your smile," she told him. "That's all."

Ever since they were children, Oliver couldn't resist giving Felicity whatever she asked for. He smiled at her again, and then the two of them went back to eating their breakfast.

Thea came stumbling down the stairs not long after that. She slid into the seat next to Felicity at the island and pressed her forehead into the palms of her hands. "Ugh," she groaned. "I need coffee."

"Well good morning, sunshine," Oliver chuckled.

Peeking between her fingers, Thea glared at her older brother. "Are you actually making jokes again? Because now is so not that time for that." Thea turned the glare on her best friend. "How the hell am I hungover and you're not?"

"Probably because I stopped drinking about two hours before you did," Felicity pointed out. She slid another cup of coffee towards Thea and watched as she dumped four packets of sugar into it. "And I'm sure all of that sugar will help your hangover."

"Shut up," Thea snapped.

Oliver bit back another chuckle and looked towards the stairs. When no one else followed Thea, he asked, "Is Tommy still asleep?"

"Yeah," Thea confirmed. "And he's lucky I didn't wake his ass up."

Felicity and Oliver shared a look. "I say we give him another fifteen minutes," she said.

Oliver grinned and dug into his breakfast with renewed gusto. He had missed a lot about civilization while he had been on the island, but there were few things that he missed more than Raisa's cooking.

* * *

 **sixteen.**

For once, Thea was actually relatively on time for lunch with Felicity. She popped into Felicity's office and promptly sat in her customary chair in front of Felicity's desk. Felicity grunted in greeting as she furiously typed away at her computer. She was working on a new program for Queen Industry's firewall, and she was just finishing the last few lines of code.

"Guess what?" Thea asked. She was used to Felicity's laser focus when she was working.

Felicity made a noise of acknowledgement in response to Thea's question and continued typing in code. Thea smiled, because she was sure that her next statement would catch Felicity's attention.

"Mom made Oliver get a bodyguard."

"What?" Felicity stopped typing and looked up at Thea in surprise. With high-profile lives like theirs, it wasn't uncommon for them to have a bodyguard or two. Thankfully, Felicity managed to convince her father that she didn't need one. She normally kept out of trouble anyway, so it wasn't as if she really needed one.

Thea grinned at the knowledge that she had some juicy information about her older brother. Even after Oliver's disappearance, Felicity still tuned in to anything Oliver-related. Now that he was back, it was nice to see that it hadn't changed.

"Oliver was attacked, apparently," Thea said.

"He was attacked? What—" Felicity was pretty sure that her heart had stopped. She had lived five years thinking that Oliver was dead. The last thing she wanted to hear was that Oliver was getting hurt. He had gone through so much already, and he didn't need more stress added on top of that.

"Relax, he's fine," Thea said. She gestured to Felicity to sit down, and she did so. Her brow furrowed in confusion, as she hadn't realized she had stood up. "Nothing but happened, but apparently some hooded vigilante saved him."

Felicity's eyes widened. She had seen a hooded man that night in Verdant. There was no way that the two events weren't connected. There weren't exactly many men running around Starling City in a hood.

"What do you know?" Thea demanded. She hadn't missed the look of surprise on her best friend's face. Felicity definitely knew something about Oliver's attack.

"The guy that saved Oliver… he didn't happen to have a bow and arrow, did he?"

Thea blinked in surprise. "How did you know?"

"I saw something…" Felicity cleared her throat and shook her head. "I honestly wasn't sure if I had been imaging it. But when we were at Verdant, I saw a guy use a bow and arrow to rappel onto Verdant's roof."

Thea stared at Felicity for several long moments. Finally, she jumped up and threw her hands in the air. "You saw that and you didn't say anything to anyone?"

"We had been drinking!" Felicity waved her hands in exasperation. "It's not every day that you see some hooded guy with a bow and arrow, you know."

Thea's brow furrowed in thought. She tapped her chin and then pulled out her phone, running a search on the Internet app until she found what she was looking for. Holding her phone out, she handed it to Felicity so she could see the articles.

Felicity scanned through several articles mentioning a hooded vigilante with a bow and arrow. So far, he had taken down several corrupt millionaires and other public figures that had done wrong in society.

"This guy is like a modern day Robin Hood," Felicity said. She handed the phone back to Thea and sighed. This is just what they needed. Queen Industry didn't exactly have the most stand-up individuals working for them, so she had no doubt that The Hood would be paying them a visit soon.

Thea wrinkled her nose. "I just want to know why he was on the roof of my club. You don't think he'll come after us, do you? Apparently he tells the people he targets that they failed the city."

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. "I doubt it. I don't think we've failed the city in any way, Thea."

Seeming reassured by her best friend's statement, Thea clapped her hands together and grabbed Felicity's purse. She handed it to her and then grabbed her arm, tugging her towards the door.

"Let's go. If we leave now, we might be able to catch Oliver coming in here to talk with my mother about his new bodyguard."

They made it to the lobby just as Oliver entered. He was followed by a tall, intimidating man that could only be his new bodyguard. Tommy wasn't very far behind him, wearing a shit-eating grin that Oliver was resolutely ignoring.

He sighed when he noticed Thea approaching him with the same grin Tommy had. Felicity pressed her lips together to keep from laughing, but it looked as if Oliver was about two seconds from rolling his eyes.

"I should have known you would be here to see this," Oliver stated.

Thea held her hands out innocently. "I just wanted to introduce Felicity to the new member of our group."

"He's not the new member of our group," Oliver grumbled.

Ignoring her older brother, Thea introduced Felicity to the bodyguard. "Felicity, meet John Diggle. He's going to keep our boy from getting into too much trouble."

"I don't get into trouble!" Oliver protested.

"Apparently, you do." Felicity reached forward and took Oliver's hand. "Are you alright? Thea told me about the attack."

Oliver shot a look towards his younger sister. "I told you not to tell anyone about what happened." Both he and Felicity missed the knowing look that Thea and Tommy shared. Of course, both of them had picked up on the fact that neither Felicity nor Oliver had let go of one another.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Felicity asked again. She hated the thought that Oliver had been in any kind of danger.

Of course, seeing the way his shoulders tensed and the look in his eyes, Felicity had a feeling that Oliver was more than capable of handling himself. He had managed to survive for five years on a deserted island—of course he knew how to protect himself.

Oliver's lips ticked up in a small smile. "I'm fine," he assured her.

Felicity squeezed his hand and then checked her watch. Turning to Thea, she said, "Okay, let's get out of here before—"

The double doors to the Queen Industry building swung open before Felicity could finish. Several impeccably dressed men in expensive suits came in—and one of them was Felicity's father. Felicity groaned as Thea tried to stifle her laughter behind her hand.

It wasn't that she didn't want to see her father; it was more that she didn't want to have to deal with him while she was in the same place as Oliver. Her father knew exactly how Felicity felt about Oliver.

Of course, Eli Smoak immediately caught sight of his daughter and noticed that she was standing next to Oliver. His eyes zeroed in on how Felicity was still holding Oliver's hand, and she immediately let go.

"Felicity, sweetheart!" Eli greeted. He hugged both her and Thea and shook Tommy's hand as well. Turning towards Oliver, Eli extended his hand to the younger man. "Oliver, son! It's good to have you back!"

Oliver smiled as she shook Eli's hand. Out of everyone that his father had worked with, Oliver had always liked Eli Smoak the best. He was a genuinely nice guy, and was always upfront with whatever business venture he was involved in. More than that, he truly cared about his daughter and didn't just ship her off to boarding school so he could cavort around the city.

"Glad to be back, Mr. Smoak," Oliver replied.

He didn't miss the way the older man's hand tightened around his as he continued to shake it. "And you'll keep my Felicity out of trouble, of course?" he said.

"Daddy!" Felicity exclaimed. They had been standing there for a grand total of forty-five seconds, and Felicity was already embarrassed beyond belief. She couldn't believe that her father would say something like that!

"Of course, sir," Oliver said seriously.

Felicity rolled her eyes when Oliver looked over her father's shoulder and grinned at her. Men, honestly.

Wrapping both of her hands around Oliver's arm, Felicity tugged until Eli finally released Oliver. "Come on, we have a lunch reservation to make." She didn't care if Oliver hadn't originally been a part of their lunch plans. She just wanted to get out of here, and she really wanted throw something at both Thea and Tommy, who were laughing their asses off. Even Diggle looked amused.

The group left the building together, and Thea and Tommy still hadn't stopped teasing them. Felicity glared at the two over her shoulder and said, "Why do we still call them our best friends?"

"I have no idea," Oliver stated.

* * *

 **seventeen.**

Felicity grinned as she uploaded the new firewall program to the mainframe. She was actually quite proud of the program she had written all by herself. Now Queen Industry's systems would be three times as secure as before. She'd like to see some of their rivals get past her security features.

When there was a knock at her office door, Felicity was surprised to see Oliver standing there, holding a laptop. She arched an eyebrow and leaned back in her chair, gesturing for him to come in.

"Oliver, to what do I owe this pleasure?" she teased. "You normally try to do everything you can to avoid this place."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm supposed to run this place one day, aren't I? I guess I might as well spend a little bit of time here. But that's not why I came in, anyway." He walked further into the office and set the laptop down on Felicity's desk. "I'm having a little bit of trouble with my laptop, and I heard you're the person to come to so it can get fixed."

It was true. She had originally started in the basement of Queen Industries in the IT Department. She could have easily become head of the department if she had wanted to, given her father's position on the Board. But Felicity had been determined to work her way up, and it wasn't long before she had actually made it to head of Internet security and maintenance. She did consider herself a bit of a technology genius.

Felicity pulled the laptop closer to her. "Oliver, what the hell did you do this?" she demanded. This laptop had been destroyed. It didn't even look like a regular laptop; it was more like one of those heavy-duty, government issued pieces of tech.

Oliver shrugged his shoulders, and the look on his face was deceptively innocent. "I spilled a latte on it."

"Really?" Felicity pointed at the back of the laptop. "Because those look more like bullet holes."

"The coffee shop I like to go to is in a bad neighborhood."

Felicity gave him a look, but Oliver wasn't budging. He wasn't going to share with her why he brought her a laptop riddled with bullet holes, and Felicity wasn't going to push it.

"Just see if you can recover anything from it, please," Oliver asked.

Felicity pulled the laptop towards her. "I'll see what I can do."

It didn't take Felicity long to recover some of the files from the laptop. She clicked through the images she had pulled up with wide eyes. "Oliver," she began. "Why do you have a laptop with blueprints of Unidac Industries?"

"That's what that is?" Oliver asked.

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him. "I thought you said this was your laptop." When Oliver just smiled at her again, Felicity sighed. "Oliver, I don't want to get involved in any weird company drama."

"What are you talking about?" Oliver asked.

"You know that Walter Steele is trying to buy Unidac, right?"

Walter Steele was the man that Moira had married not long after Robert and Oliver had officially been declared dead. Oliver had met him twice since his return home, and he honestly didn't really care to be around the man that much.

Seeing the look on Oliver's face, Felicity turned to click through more of the files on the laptop. "I guess you didn't know." She copied all of the files to a flash drive and handed it to Oliver. "You're not getting mixed up in anything serious, are you?"

Oliver's eyes went wide and innocent again. "Of course not," he told her. He smiled, and Felicity's heart skipped a beat. In the back of her mind, so knew what he was doing; he was trying to distract her with his charm. Naturally, it was working. Felicity had always been a sucker for Oliver Queen's charm.

Felicity made an annoyed huffing noise under her breath, but she disconnected the laptop and returned that to Oliver as well. He watched her for a long, unnerving moment before he got up and headed towards her office door.

Unable to help herself, Felicity swiveled in her chair. "Oliver?"

He stopped with his hand on the doorknob. The bullet-riddled laptop was tucked under his free arm, and Felicity glanced at it before she looked up into his face. There was definitely something he wasn't telling her, but she wasn't going to push him.

"Please be careful," she finally whispered.

Before Felicity realized what was happening, Oliver was suddenly in front of her. He slipped his arms around her and pulled her from her chair, holding her against his chest. Felicity got over her shock quickly and returned his embrace, pressing her cheek against his chest as Oliver held her.

The embrace lasted for long, uninterrupted moments. Felicity's heart tightened in her chest and she closed her eyes. She couldn't help but turn her face into his chest and inhaling. Even after his disappearance and return, Oliver still smelled the same as he had from years before.

Wrapped in his arms like this, Felicity could almost trick herself into believing that nothing had changed. But even she could realize that everything had.

* * *

 **eighteen.**

"Please, Felicity," Thea pleaded. "Please, _please_ come out tonight."

On the other end of the line, Felicity sighed. She rolled over on her bed and tucked the phone between her shoulder and her cheek. "Thea, I'm really not in the mood to go out tonight," she said. "I just want to stay in and watch Netflix."

"Ugh." Thea huffed indignantly. "Fine, if you must. But you owe me a night out, Felicity Smoak."

"Yeah, whatever." Felicity knew that there was really no arguing with Thea. It was very rare when Thea wasn't able to talk Felicity into going out. But when she had a night out, Thea normally made up for it by making Felicity go club-hopping with her.

The two young women said their goodbyes. When Felicity hung up the phone, she saw that she had a text message from Oliver. Unable to sop the smile from forming on her lips, she thumbed the screen to open the message. The text was simple, and he just wanted to know how she was doing. It made Felicity's smile widen and she typed out a response.

Felicity settled into the bed and turned on Netflix, flipping to some random episode of the show she had been watching. Felicity didn't pay much attention to her tablet, and instead kept all of her focus on her phone. She spoke with Oliver for hours via text message, just like they used to when Felicity was in high school and Oliver was off attending (and getting kicked out of) multiple universities.

Before she knew it, it was past one o'clock in the morning. The "Are you still watching?" screen blinked at Felicity, but she ignored it in favor of answering another text from Oliver. Before she could hit send, her phone suddenly vibrated and a picture of her and Thea popped up on the screen.

Grinning, Felicity swiped to answer the call. Whenever Thea went out without her, Felicity could always count on either a series of drunk texts or a drunken phone call.

"You only made it to one in the morning?" Felicity asked after she had pressed the phone to her ear.

Felicity could hear the thumping techno beat of club music coming through the speaker of Thea's phone, but there was no immediate greeting. Felicity waited for a few moments, wondering if Thea was trying to find a quieter place so she would be able to talk. But another long beat of silence passed and there was still nothing.

For some reason, Felicity's stomach swooped in fear. She couldn't explain it, but she was suddenly filled with dread. "Thea?" Felicity called. "Thea, are you there?"

There was another terrifyingly long moment of silence, and then Felicity heard the faint sounds of someone shuffling. Jumping up, Felicity ran over to her computer and opened the program necessary to track Thea's signal. She only had a minute, maybe two. She couldn't afford to waste any time and she had to get this trace as fast as she possibly could.

"Thea!" Felicity demanded, unable to keep waiting for her response. She put the call on speaker phone as she frantically typed away at the computer. "Thea, answer me, please!"

Suddenly, Felicity heard someone take a deep, shaky breath. She was so close to getting Thea's location. She only had to hold on for a few moments longer. Thea's voice, quiet and weak, reached her over the speaker. "Lis… help…"

The computer dinged, and Felicity couldn't help the fist-pump she made in victory. She had succeeded in finding where Thea was, and she was at Verdant. It was terrifying to know that Thea was in so much trouble at a place where they were supposed to be safe, but at least Felicity had found where she was.

The line went dead, but Felicity was still on a high from being able to trace the call. She knew she could get the help that Thea needed, but she didn't call the police first—instead, Felicity fumbled with her phone until she had selected Oliver's number.

"Hey." Oliver's voice was warm and filled with amusement when he answered the phone. "I was wondering where you had disappeared to."

"Oliver," Felicity choked out. She pressed a hand to her chest in an effort to calm her racing heart, and her breath caught as her imagination ran rampant with thoughts of what could be happening to Thea.

Felicity could practically hear Oliver tense up. "Felicity, what's wrong?" he demanded.

Felicity could feel a panic attack coming on, and she sank down onto her knees and curled up into a ball. This had to be one of the most terrifying moments of her life. She had never felt so helpless before… apart from the day she found out that Oliver had supposedly died.

"Felicity," Oliver repeated. "Tell me what happened."

Finally catching her breath, Felicity managed to speak. "Thea," she gasped. "Thea's at Verdant. Something happened, but I don't know—"

"I'll take care of it," Oliver interrupted. He hung up before Felicity could respond, and she let the hand holding her phone fall limply to her side. She stared straight ahead, lost in thought. Felicity wasn't sure if she should head to Verdant, or if she should wait and meet them at the hospital. Or she could skip the hospital all together and just go to the mansion.

A grand total of five minutes must have passed while Felicity was processing all of this, but she looked up when she realized that John Diggle was standing in her doorway. Blinking in surprise, she started to stand, and Diggle crossed the room in three strides and was offering her a hand before she had even started to move.

"Mr. Diggle," Felicity greeted. "What are you… I mean, what is…" Felicity huffed and shook her head as she tried to get a hold of her raging emotions. "Where's Oliver?" she asked, because that seemed like the most simple question.

Diggle folded his hands in front of him, but the look on his face was fierce and protective. "Mr. Queen asked me to pick you up and bring you back to the mansion." The tone of his voice left no room for argument, so all Felicity could do was nod her head and grab her purse before she followed the large man out of her room.

Ten minutes later, Felicity was being led through the Queen mansion until they had arrived at Thea's suite of rooms. The Queen family's private physician was there, checking over Thea with a team of nurses while Oliver stood to the side.

Felicity, who had practically run into the room, stopped abruptly in her tracks when she saw Oliver. His arms were crossed over his chest, and there was a look of such foreboding on his face that Felicity was genuinely worried for anyone that said the wrong thing to him in that moment. He glanced up when he heard her enter the room, and their eyes collided.

"Oliver," Felicity whispered.

He moved, holding his arms out, and Felicity was running into them before he had even held them out all the way. She buried her face in his chest, closing her eyes as she held on to him for dear life.

Oliver's arms wrapped around her, anchoring her to him. He settled one hand on her hip while the other cupped the back of her head, stroking her hair gently. Felicity leaned into his touch, relishing in the comfort that Oliver offered.

"She's going to be okay," Oliver told her. "She was drugged at the club, but we managed to get to her in time. They're flushing her system now and she'll wake up in a couple of hours." Oliver gently guided Felicity's head back until she was looking up at him. "It's because of you that we found her. You saved her life."

Felicity swallowed hard and blinked against the tears that were threatening to fall. "I tracked her location," she said. "I didn't know where she was and I didn't know what else to do so I tracked her location and tried to find her and—"

Her voice caught in her throat when Oliver cupped her cheek in one of his large, strong hands. He stroked under her eyes with his calloused thumb, brushing away the tears that had fallen despite her best efforts.

"You saved Thea's life," Oliver repeated.

Felicity bit her lip and nodded her head. She hugged Oliver tightly once again, tucking herself into his side as Diggle approached them. He took in the sight of the two of them and his eyebrows shot up, though he didn't comment on the way that Oliver and Felicity were holding on to one another.

"It was the Count," Oliver said to Diggle. It sounded as though he was confirming a theory that the two of them had already discussed. "The Count did this to her."

Felicity tilted her head to look up at Oliver. "How do you know that?" she questioned.

Oliver looked down at her, and a beat of silence passed before he said, "I asked the bouncer at Verdant. He heard about what had happened and filled me in."

Felicity's eyes narrowed as she studied Oliver, but she didn't pull away from him. As far as the lies that Oliver told went, that was actually a fairly convincing one. Felicity knew better, though. Oliver may not have been outright lying, but he was definitely omitting part of the truth.

Instead of questioning it further, however, Felicity decided to let it go for now. She didn't want to press him for too much information, because the last thing Felicity wanted was for Oliver to pull away.

So she buried her face in his chest again and closed her eyes, thankful that for tonight, everything had turned out alright.

* * *

 **nineteen.**

Felicity was surprised when she came out of a meeting and saw Oliver coming out of the elevator. What shocked her even further was that Diggle was practically holding Oliver up. When they caught sight of Felicity watching them, Diggle let go of Oliver.

"Oliver, what the hell is wrong?" Felicity demanded. His eyes were unfocused and his brow was shining with sweat. Felicity was incredibly concerned for him, and she reached out to put a hand on his arm. Oliver stepped out of her reach, which only made Felicity even more confused.

Oliver shook his head slightly. "I just have a little bit of a hangover, that's all."

Felicity cut her eyes to Diggle, who was watching Oliver with far more concern than was necessary for a hangover. He glanced at her and then looked away quickly, and Felicity knew that there was something pretty dire going on.

"Oliver—"

Cutting her off, Oliver handed her a syringe filled with a bright yellow liquid. "One of my friends is making some new energy drink that he claims can cure any hangover. But you know that I'm very particular about what I put in my body—"

Unable to help herself, Felicity's eyes swept up and down Oliver's body. Sure, he had looked good before he disappeared on the island. Oliver Queen had always been exceptionally good-looking. Now, however, it was practically unfair how attractive he was. His body was taught, rugged, and Felicity would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about licking chocolate off of his abs.

"Oh I've noticed," Felicity blurted before she could stop herself.

Oliver blinked in surprise and then chuckled. Diggle covered his face with his hand, and Felicity was pretty sure that he was hiding his own laughter. Felicity's cheeks flamed bright red, and she pressed her lips together and willed the floor to open up beneath her.

"Anyway," Oliver continued. "Can you do a spectro-analysis and find out exactly where in the city it's made? I'm just trying to find out the secret recipe." His face was blank, completely devoid of any emotion. In fact, it was as if Oliver was keeping his emotions too in check.

Felicity took the syringe from Oliver and studied it. Looking back up at her friend, she asked, "Okay, if it's an energy drink, why is it in a syringe?"

Without missing a beat, Oliver replied, "I ran out of sports bottles."

Felicity's mouth dropped open at Oliver's blatant lie, and Diggle actually face-palmed. Felicity stared at him, and he smiled charmingly at her. Realizing that he wasn't going to give her any more information, Felicity took the syringe and headed towards the lab without another word.

Ever since they had found Thea at Verdant, Oliver had been withdrawn and even more secretive than usual. Felicity tried not to push it, because she didn't want to press Oliver. He pulled away when people asked too many questions, and the last thing Felicity wanted was for him to distance himself from her—not when she just got him back.

Even though Oliver was being oddly secretive about everything he'd been doing lately, Felicity knew that he trusted her because he was coming to her for help. He may not have given her the full story, but it was enough to know that he did trust her enough to help him.

For now, that had to be enough.

* * *

 **twenty.**

Thea whirled around the room like a tornado, and Felicity watched her with worried eyes. Thea did her best to ignore her as she gathered up expensive shoes, jewelry, and a bottle of champagne. Finally, Felicity's stare was too much and she stopped, planting her hands on her hips.

"Felicity Smoak, knock it off," Thea demanded. "You're really ruining what is going to be a great night with all of your worry."

Felicity held her hands up, but she refused to apologize for her caution. "Are you sure that you're okay to go to the gala tonight?" she asked for the fifteenth time that night.

Thea rolled her eyes and thrust the silver, strappy heels she had selected towards Felicity. "Yes, I'm sure. Now shut up and go get dressed. I spent _hours_ picking out our outfits for tonight, you know."

Felicity took the shoes with a skeptical look. They were awfully high, even for the heels that Thea normally forced upon her. Still, Felicity stood up and headed towards Thea's walk in closet. She spotted Thea's dress first: it was a maroon color, with a long tulle skirt and a cropped top.

Of course, Thea had picked out the perfect dress for Felicity. It was a bejeweled blue color, and strapless with a full, layered skirt in tiers. Felicity fingered one of the layers almost reverently and turned to look over her shoulder at her best friend.

"Oh my god, Thea," Felicity said. "This dress is perfect."

Thea looked pretty proud of herself. "Duh, of course it is. And wait until Oliver sees you in it."

Felicity almost tripped over herself. "Oliver will be there tonight?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Thea smirked. "Of course he is. This is the first big gala that Queen Consolidated has had since Ollie's return. He basically has to be there, even if he doesn't want to be."

Three hours later, Felicity's hair was swept up into a sleek bun, and she was wearing the strappy shoes and the gorgeous dress. She was wearing a pair of diamond earrings that had once belonged to her mother, and she had to admit that it was probably her favorite part of her outfit.

With a glass of champagne in hand, Thea and Felicity made their way down the grand staircase in the Queen Mansion. Felicity had turned to answer Thea's request to check her hair, so she missed the look on Oliver's face when he caught sight of her.

Thea and Tommy didn't miss it, though. They shared a look when Felicity turned and saw Oliver standing in the foyer. She actually stopped in her tracks for a moment, her steps faltering. Oliver strode across the foyer and waited at the foot of the staircase for her.

It really was unfair how amazing that man looked in a tuxedo. He looked like he was born to wear a tux; come to think of it, it had probably been custom made for him. Felicity licked her lips and reached out to tuck her hand in the crook of Oliver's elbow.

"Hey," she greeted as she smiled. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and she was pretty sure she hadn't fallen flat on her face yet because Oliver was supporting her weight. Really, she was almost embarrassed about how much of an affect he had on her. Felicity couldn't really bring herself to truly feel bad about it, though. There had been a time where she thought that she would never see Oliver again, so at the moment, she didn't really care if he could see how much she was blushing.

"Hey," Oliver said in return. Then he smiled—a true, real smile that spread wide across his face. It took Felicity's breath away, and she squeezed his arm. His eyes took in her dress appreciatively, and a shiver worked its way down Felicity's spine. "You look beautiful."

Oliver's normally closed-off face was open and earnest, and Felicity couldn't help herself. With the added height from her heels, it was easy for Felicity to press a kiss to his cheek. She could feel her cheeks flare bright pink, and Felicity ducked her head and refused to look him in the eye as she turned and tugged them towards the ballroom.

To her surprise, Oliver was practically dragging his feet as they walked through the ballroom together. "Do we have to be here?" he asked.

Felicity arched an eyebrow at him. "Oliver Queen, are you _whining_?"

"No," he mumbled. He cast narrowed eyes around the ballroom. Thea was at the bar, harassing a waiter into getting drinks for all of them. Tommy was with Laurel, and they were sanding with her father. Felicity's father was standing with Moira and Walter off to the side of the ballroom, and they caught sight of Oliver and Felicity almost immediately.

It was then that Felicity realized that her hand was still tucked in the crook of Oliver's elbow. Eli Smoak definitely noticed that little detail. His eyes zeroed in on his daughter standing closely to Oliver. With eyes narrowed into slits, he looked from Felicity, down to her hands tucked into his elbow, and up to Oliver, where they stayed.

"Um, Felicity?" Oliver murmured. "Your dad is staring."

Felicity sighed. "Yeah, I know. Come on." She tugged on his arm again and steered him towards their parents. They might as well get this part of the night over with, she supposed.

Thankfully, Thea breezed by and gracefully passed Oliver a glass of scotch and Felicity a flute of champagne. Felicity raised the glass in thanks towards her best friend and took a long sip of it before they finally stopped in front of their parents.

Eli smiled at his daughter and kissed her cheek. "Sweetheart," he greeted. His face hardened as he turned towards Oliver. "Mr. Queen."

"Mr. Smoak," Oliver said solemnly. Felicity had to press her lips together to keep from giggling, and she took another sip of her champagne.

"What are the two of you up to?" Eli asked. He looked meaningfully at the way Felicity was still holding Oliver's arm, and she blushed and made to pull away. Oliver covered her hand with one of his large ones, anchoring her to his arm.

"I couldn't let Felicity go without an escort tonight," Oliver said. He delivered his words so nonchalantly that Felicity almost believed him. But she nudged her elbow lightly into his side, and Oliver managed to stop himself from smiling just in time.

Moira, sensing that this situation could possibly get very out of hand, stepped between her son and Eli. "Felicity, so wonderful to see you. You look beautiful."

"Thanks, Mrs. Queen," Felicity said politely. While she had grown up with Oliver and then had become best friends with Thea, she had never been that close to the matriarch of the Queen family. Felicity then caught sight of Thea waving at them from across the room, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, it looks like Thea needs us," Felicity said. This time, she didn't need to steer Oliver. They both made their way over to where Thea was waiting in the opposite corner of the ballroom. It wasn't long before Tommy joined them, and the four friends commiserated together.

"This is so _boring_ ," Tommy whined. He grinned at Oliver and nudged him in the side. "Hey, remember when we used to get into so much trouble at these things?"

The corner of Oliver's mouth went up in a small smile. "Yeah, it's probably not a good idea for us to do that now."

Tommy snorted. "Yeah, I guess so. Besides, it's not like we could get away with much while the police commissioner and the great Detective Lance is here."

The aforementioned police commissioner and detective were standing fairly close to their little group. Walter and Eli had joined them, and something that Walter asked about caught Felicity's ear and she tuned into the conversation.

"I heard that you apprehended the Count, Detective," Walter said to Lance. "Nicely done."

The police commissioner clapped Lance on the shoulder. "Yes, he did a fantastic job. And pretty soon, we'll have the Vigilante, too."

Lance shifted, and it was clear that he was a little uncomfortable under all the praise. "I don't know," he said. "The Vigilante was actually the one that took the Count down. He overdosed him with his own drug. He's in a mental hospital right now."

Felicity suddenly remembered the night that they found Thea. She remembered the way that Oliver had told Diggle that it was the Count who had attacked Thea, and she had seen the near murderous look on his face. Something clicked inside her mind, and Felicity gasped sharply.

"Are you alright?"

Felicity looked up at Oliver with wide eyes when he squeezed her arm lightly. There was no way… it had to be impossible… Felicity shook her head and pushed those thoughts away. Now was not the time to try and figure out whether or not Oliver Queen, her best friend since childhood, was actually the Starling City Vigilante.

* * *

 **twenty-one.**

Pushing her hair out of her face, Felicity made her way through the garage attached to the Queen Consolidated building. Her heels clicked on the cement, and she sighed in relief when her Mini Cooper came into view. She had had a long day at work, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed and go to sleep.

Her mind had been racing ever since the gala at the Queen mansion three days ago. The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed that Oliver was actually the Vigilante. She couldn't believe that she had actually come to that conclusion, but it was the one that made the most sense.

(Honestly, Felicity was wondering if she had gone completely crazy, because how was it possible that she was actually entertaining the idea that Oliver Queen was the Starling City Vigilante?)

Shaking her head, Felicity pushed those thoughts from her mind. She just wanted to go home, curl up with some mint chocolate chip ice cream, and watch some Netflix. Felicity just wanted to clear her mind and spend her weekend doing absolutely nothing.

Felicity unlocked the car and climbed into the front seat. She set her bag aside in the passenger seat and buckled her seat belt before she turned the car on. Just as she was reaching for the radio dial, she heard a grunt come from her back seat.

Freezing with one hand stretched out towards the console, Felicity slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder. What the hell was that? Was there someone in her car? She was absolutely positive that she had locked it when she had left for work earlier, so how could someone be in there?  
There was a man clad in green leather spread out over her backseat, and Felicity gasped. It was the Starling City Vigilante! "Oh my god!" Felicity exclaimed involuntarily.

"Felicity, I'm not going to hurt you." The voice was gruff, and changed by a modulator, but Felicity had grown up hearing that voice. She knew exactly who it belonged to, and she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Of course I know you're not going to hurt me," she stated matter-of-factly, even though her heart was pounding in her chest. "I know exactly who you are, and I know that you could never hurt me."

The Vigilante pulled his hood back, and Felicity realized that she had been right; it was Oliver. He had green paint smeared around his eyes, and there was sweat beading on his forehead. His face was pinched in pain, and Felicity reached a hand out to touch his shoulder. He grunted but he reached up, lacing his fingers with hers.

"Felicity," Oliver breathed. "I need your help."

Felicity exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. So much for a relaxing weekend.

* * *

 **So I originally planned on this being a one-shot, but then I got to 13,000 words (and quickly passed that) and realized that that wasn't going to happen. I have no idea how long this is going to be, but I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with it. Thanks for reading!**


	2. i know everything you don't want me to

**I am so so excited that you have all had such a positive response to this story! I was working on the first chapter for what seemed like forever (I started it in January), so I'm so happy to continue it!**

 **This isn't going to be a direct re-write of season one, or anything like that (for example, Oliver will not be hooking up with the crazy Helena). I'm following the basic timeline, though.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The chapter titles come from the song "Poison and Wine" by The Civil Wars.**

* * *

 **twenty-two.**

" _Are you insane?_ "

Oliver winced at Felicity's shrill exclamation, but he nodded his head and tightened his hand around hers. Their fingers were still laced together, and Oliver focused on that instead of the wide-eyed look of fear that was on Felicity's face.

"Felicity, you have to promise that you're going to take me to my father's factory in the Glades," he repeated.

"Verdant?" Felicity corrected. "Why the hell do you want to go to Verdant? That's a club, Oliver!"

Even though he was in an unimaginable amount of pain, Oliver still managed to give Felicity a slightly exasperated, slightly amused look. She had been getting those looks from him for years, and it used to amuse Felicity to no end—until now.

"It's important," Oliver stated with a note a finality that was not meant to be argued with. "You have to take me there." But of course, Felicity argued with him anyway.

"Oliver!" Felicity twisted all the way around in the front seat and gave him an imploring look. Everything about him since he had returned from the island had become so unbelievably clear. Even so, Felicity was still struggling to wrap her mind around what was happening. It wasn't every day that she found out that her best friend was the Starling City Vigilante, after all. "You're… you're…" She pressed her lips together and swallowed hard. "You've been shot. You need to go to the hospital."

"No hospital," Oliver said. He curled in further on himself and closed his eyes as he tried to get a hold of his pain."Just take me to the factory."

Felicity squeezed Oliver's hand again before she reluctantly let go. At this point, she needed both hands to drive because she was shaking so terribly. She could only focus on one thing at a time, and right now, she needed to get Oliver the help that he needed.

It wasn't long before Felicity was squealing into a spot outside Verdant. She bustled over to the backseat and opened the door, only to find out that Oliver had finally passed out from the pain. Chewing on her bottom lip, Felicity stared at his prone form as she tried to figure out the best way to get him from the car into Verdant.

Felicity pulled on Oliver's arms until he was twisted in the seat in a position that was easier for Felicity to pull him. As soon as she tried to heft some of his weight against her, Felicity's knees buckled under the hard wall of muscle. She huffed as she pushed him back into the car as much as she could and then stepped back, pushing the matted hair from her face. She was about five seconds from freaking the hell out, because Oliver was bleeding out in the back of her car and she had no idea how to get him the help that he needed.

Casting a glance around the parking lot, Felicity realized that Oliver's Bentley—the one that Diggle drove—was parked in the shadows. Felicity carefully shut the door of her Mini Cooper, just in case anyone happened to walk by and see the man covered in green leather bleeding in her backseat.

Felicity ran into the club and searched everywhere until she found a door that led to the basement. It was locked, but it didn't take her long to bypass the security set by the keypad she found next to the door. She ran down the stairs and wasn't surprised to find John Diggle sitting at one of the tables, fiddling with an array of weapons.

"Can you help me?" Felicity pleaded, even as Digg turned around and pointed a gun at her. Her heart was still racing from finding her best friend bleeding from a severe gunshot wound in the backseat of her car, so nothing could faze her at that point. "He's really heavy!"

* * *

 **twenty-three.**

It was hours of tense touch-and-go, but they finally managed to get Oliver stabilized. One of the most frightening things Felicity had experienced in her entire life was when Digg had to shock Oliver back to life with the defibrillator. Oliver had managed to pull through anyway, but Felicity wasn't sure how long it would take her to recover from this scare.

She had a chair pulled up to the side of the metal table Oliver was laid out on. Both of her hands were wrapped around one of his, and she was slumped over the table as she tried to get a hold of the emotions swirling inside of her.

Finally, after many long hours, Oliver's eyes opened. "Well." His voice was raspy as he looked at Digg first, then around the lair they were in, and then to Felicity. "I guess I didn't die. Cool."

For what had to have been the hundredth time that night, Felicity rolled her eyes. Instead of hitting Oliver (like she really wanted to), she settled for cursing loudly. Still, she didn't let go of his hand. He had been too close to the brink of death, and Felicity would be damned if there was anyone or anything that could part her from Oliver Queen in that moment.

"Oliver Queen, are you insane?" Felicity demanded for the second time (out loud, anyway) that night. "I mean, you have to be. That would be the only way that this could make sense!"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Diggle chuckled. Felicity tossed a glare over her shoulder at the older man and then turned back towards Oliver. One eyebrow arched as she waited for Oliver's answer. He had the grace to look chastised, and he shifted uncomfortably on the table.

"You could say that," Digg answered when Oliver didn't say anything.

Felicity dropped her head to the table, next to Oliver's arm. "Oh my god," she breathed. "I can't believe it. You're the vigilante. Oh my god."

She didn't jump when she felt Oliver's hand settle on the back of her head. Instead, she titled her head into his touch, and a little sigh escaped her lips when his fingers began to stroke through her messy ponytail. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Felicity was aware of the fact that Oliver had been shot, yet he was the one offering her comfort.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Oliver murmured as his fingers massaged through her hair. Felicity relished in the feel of Oliver touching her before she sat up and slowly pulled away. She couldn't resist touching him, however—instead of completely separating from him, Felicity held his hand once again.

"Sooner?" Felicity repeated. She tried to play it off as much as she could, but internally, she was still freaking out. "Do you mean that you were going to end up telling me anyway?"

Oliver lifted the shoulder on his uninjured side, and despite his best efforts, he wasn't able to keep the amusement off of his face. "Don't pretend like you didn't have it figured out anyway."

Felicity grumbled under her breath, but she didn't confirm or deny Oliver's accusation. Instead, she stared at his hand wrapped in hers. Slowly, she turned her hand over so that her palm was pressed against his, and she laced their fingers together.

"You scared me," Felicity whispered. She was embarrassed to feel tears suddenly burning in her eyes, and she blinked hard to keep them at bay. Oliver had enough to worry about without her crying at the moment.

The hard lines of Oliver's face softened. His thumb stroked the back of her knuckles, and he shifted on the table towards her to reach out and cup her cheek in his free hand. "I'm sorry."

His voice was so sincere that Felicity felt her heart break a little bit more. What was it going to take for Oliver Queen to realize that no matter what—no matter what he had been through, no matter who he was before he had disappeared, no matter what he had done during his time on the island, no matter who he was now—she was going to accept him?

Instead of voicing any of that, Felicity managed a watery, shaky smile for him. "You better be," she said. "You so totally owe me for this, Oliver Queen."

"I know," Oliver said. His eyes drifted around the room, and he looked at the computer screens that were now proudly displayed at one end of the lair before he looked back towards Felicity. His eyebrows shot up towards his hairline, and he tilted his head at her. She huffed indignantly and wagged her finger in his face.

"Don't look at me like that! You know how I am about computers, Oliver. To see your system set up so poorly hurt me deep in my soul. I _had_ to fix it, Oliver."

Finally making his presence known, Diggle chuckled and stood up, joining the pair on the other side of the metal table that Oliver was laid out on. "I like her," Digg declared. "Why didn't we get her to join us sooner?"

Oliver's brow furrowed darkly, and he shook his head. Despite Felicity's protests, he slowly sat up and took the blanket that Digg offered him. "No," he said sharply. "There's no way in hell that she's joining us."

" _She's_ sitting right here," Felicity huffed. "And by the way, it's basically like I joined your secret little vigilante club anyway. Like you could have figured out what was on that laptop without me. Or what the spectro-analysis for the Vertigo was."

Digg looked impressed by that. "How did you know that was Vertigo?"

Felicity pointed to her brain. "Not to brag, or anything, but I am kind of a genius. I did graduate from MIT early, just in case you were wondering." With that said, she turned back towards Oliver. "Face it, Oliver. You need me."

Oliver exhaled slowly. He seemed to be weighing his options, but Felicity had no idea how he wouldn't accept her joining their little team. She had just basically saved his life, after all. So, employing a tactic that had always worked well when they were kids, Felicity made her eyes go as wide as they possibly could, and she stuck her lower lip out slightly. Oliver's eyes rolled towards the ceiling in exasperation as soon as he caught the look on Felicity's face; he knew exactly what she was doing.

"Fine," he said. "But we do this my way. You listen to me." He had still been holding on to her hand since he sat up, and Felicity didn't realize it until he squeezed her fingers. "I need you to be safe."

Felicity nodded her head, but her heart was thumping hard in her chest as she agreed to something that would change her life forever. "Okay."

* * *

 **twenty-four.**

In the time between when Felicity had left Oliver's lair and when she had arrived at her apartment, something inside of her had snapped. Everything that she had been through since she had first heard about Oliver's disappearance, to the point that she was at now, suddenly hit her.

Felicity had spent so much time pushing her feelings down about Oliver's disappearance and his supposed death that she had never truly let herself grieve. There had never been a moment where she had let go and just let herself feel. All of those emotions hit her out of nowhere after she had seen Oliver on that table, bleeding from a bullet wound. Suddenly, without her permission, the feelings were attacking Felicity and she didn't know how to handle it.

The walls were closing in around her, and Felicity clutched at her chest as she tried desperately to catch her breath. She scrambled for her phone and pulled up Oliver's number. It only took one ring for him to answer.

"Felicity?" He sounded as though he had been waiting for her to call.

It took Felicity a few tries, but she finally managed to speak. "I need you," was all she said, and Oliver grunted before he hung up.

He must have followed her home, because he was climbing through her window not two minutes later. He was still clad head to toe in green leather, and Felicity stared at him, unsure of what to say or do.

This man—the man that she loved—had been lost to her for five long years. Now here he was, putting himself in danger all over again to save Starling City. Felicity was an odd mixture of furious with him and extremely proud. All she could think was that somehow Oliver was going to get himself killed, but she could never ask him to stop. Felicity knew that Oliver needed to do this, and, more importantly, she knew that the city needed someone like him.

Standing in the middle of her room, in front of Oliver, Felicity burst into tears.

Before Felicity even knew what was happening, she was crushed against Oliver's chest. Felicity was sobbing so hard that she could barely breathe, but Oliver stroked his hands up and down her back. Her cheek stuck to the leather of his jacket, but Felicity didn't care. She welcomed of the solid feel of his body under hers.

Eventually, Felicity's gasping sobs were reduced to tears that trickled down her cheeks. Oliver swept her into his arms and settled her onto her bed. Felicity curled into herself, pulling her knees up to her chest as she sniffled. She was so exhausted that she couldn't even bring herself to get a hold of her emotions. Instead, she just let the tears come.

Felicity heard the zippers of Oliver's gear. He deposited the jacket and his multiple quivers on the chair in Felicity's room and then climbed onto the bed with her. His strong arms wrapped around her again, and Felicity was suddenly very aware of the fact that Oliver was wearing nothing more than a pair of boxers and a black undershirt. She curled against his chest anyway, pressing her hand over his heart so she could feel the reassuring beat under her palm.

"You almost died tonight," Felicity whispered.

"No, I didn't," Oliver said immediately. Felicity lifted her head to narrow her eyes at him, and he shrugged his shoulders as he gave her an unapologetic look. "Well, I didn't. You and Digg had it handled."

Felicity exhaled slowly and shook her head. "You don't understand. I just got you back, and you could have died tonight. You already died once, Oliver. And I finally…" She shook her head. Oliver had been a witness to her breakdown, so it wasn't like she had to describe it again. "It was so hard, when they first told me that you had disappeared. I didn't want to believe that you were dead. But when we went to the funeral and they had to bury an empty casket…"

Unable to finish, Felicity trailed off and buried her face in Oliver's chest. She had blocked those painful memories from five years ago, and they were coming back with a vengeance. Felicity curled her fingers into the soft material of Oliver's shirt and anchored herself to him.

"I'm sorry," Oliver whispered. The pain in his voice was stark and poignant, and it made tears roll down Felicity's cheeks unchecked. "I'm so, so sorry."

He repeated the words over and over as his hands stroked her back and hair. Felicity didn't know how long she had remained wrapped in Oliver's arms, but eventually her tears stopped and her breathing returned to normal. Oliver reclined against the pillows and they adjusted so that she was lying comfortably against his chest.

Twenty minutes later, Felicity's eyes drifted shut. She felt safe and secure with Oliver's arms wrapped around her. No matter what happened from here on out, Felicity knew that somehow, everything was going to be okay as long as Oliver was with her.

* * *

 **twenty-five.**

Spinning in her chair, Felicity held the little worn notebook in her hand up to the light. "So this is how you pick your targets?" she asked. Felicity spun back towards Oliver and closed the notebook. "It's all in this little list right here?"

Oliver nodded his head once. They were currently huddled in Felicity's office, and she still wasn't sure if it was the best place for them to be. After all, Felicity had been very surprised when she had arrived at Queen Consolidated that morning, only to find the whole building roped off by the police.

Oliver had neglected to mention that the person that shot him had been his mother. So after Felicity had called him and lectured him about leaving important details out for a good five minutes, he had met her at the building and got her in before any of the rest of the employees. From the hotspot and her tablet, Felicity had managed to destroy any evidence that could have incriminated Oliver from the crime scene.

Felicity studied the odd little symbol on the front of the notebook. For some reason, it looked familiar to her, but she couldn't place where it was from. Shrugging her shoulders, she handed the notebook back to Oliver.

"Have you ever thought about catching bad guys that _aren't_ on the list?" Felicity queried. "I mean you could probably do a lot more than just bring down corrupt jerks."

Digg sighed heavily, and Felicity had a feeling that this was not the first time this subject had been brought up. "We don't have time for that," Oliver stated gruffly. "The list is what's important right now."

Felicity rolled her eyes and shared a look with Digg. "I'm just saying," she said. "If you wanted to stop a bank robbery or a shooting or something, I would be more than happy to help you dig up the information on any of those things."

Oliver grunted noncommittally, but Felicity notice that he didn't say no, either. She considered that a success, and then she turned the conversation towards the next issue at hand. She swiveled from side to side in her chair, unsure of what the best way to bring up the topic was. She had a feeling that Oliver wasn't going to be receptive no matter what she said.

Deciding that direct was the best way to go, Felicity asked, "Have you thought about telling Thea yet?"

Oliver arched an eyebrow at her. "Tell Thea what?" he asked, and Felicity shot him a look. He knew exactly what she was asking, but he was going to make her say it anyway. He used to do the same thing when they were kids, and it had always irked her (and simultaneously endeared him to her) to no end.

"Are you going to tell Thea about your nightly activities?" Felicity mimed shooting an arrow, causing Digg to smile in amusement. She had a feeling that Oliver would have smiled to, had her question not cause his mouth to form in a hard line.

"Absolutely not," Oliver stated. "Thea isn't to know anything about this."

Felicity rolled her eyes at the look on Oliver's face. "Seriously, Oliver, you have to tell her about this. There's no way you can keep this secret from her."

"I've managed so far," Oliver pointed out. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared Felicity down, daring her to argue with him.

Felicity was well-practiced in dealing with a stubborn Oliver. Five years on an island hadn't changed that. "You can't keep this secret from her forever. It's going to get too hard. And let's face it, your cover stories aren't exactly the greatest."

"We're not telling Thea," Oliver growled. "End of discussion."

Felicity's eyes went wide as she stared at Oliver incredulously. "Did you just _growl_ at me?"

"He does that," Digg said. Oliver tossed a glare his way, but the other man seemed unfazed by it. He patted Felicity's shoulder sympathetically. "I've tried to talk to him about this whole Thea thing a few times. He won't hear it."

Felicity pointed a finger at Oliver. "We're not done talking about this," she said. Oliver grunted but didn't growl again, so Felicity considered that a success. Looking back at the articles she had pulled up about the Vigilante, Felicity scanned it. "So, should we talk about the elephant in the room?"

Oliver's eyebrows shot up, and he patiently waited for Felicity to continue. The look on his face made her smile; it was one that she had often seen on him when they were teenagers. Felicity pointed at her computer screen, and the headline that was displayed across it: " _Starling City Vigilante Attacks Moira Queen._ "

"Your mother _shot_ you. How in the hell did that happen?"

It almost looked like Oliver was pouting as he grumbled, "She didn't know it was me."

"Is she even on the list?" Felicity asked. "What's going on?"

Oliver leaned against Felicity's desk and sighed. "I think my parents were involved in some bad things," Oliver told her. "Things that could put this city in danger."

"Oh." Felicity absentmindedly tapped her fingers on the little notebook. "Um… do you have any idea what it could be?"

"Not yet. But we're hoping that you can help us figure it out. You're going to have more luck digging up information than I will."

Felicity nodded her head and immediately noted how tense Oliver was. The fact that his family was involved in something that could be potentially dangerous for the city was obviously causing Oliver a lot of turmoil. Reaching over, Felicity cover Oliver's hand with hers and squeezed. Oliver's shoulders relaxed just barely, but he did give her a small smile.

From across the room, Digg watched Felicity and Oliver interact with interest. He didn't think that either of them realized the way that they looked at each other or acted when they were in the same room. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

 **twenty-six.**

"Do you want to come to the club tonight?" Thea asked. She took a bite of her burger and waited expectantly for Felicity's answer. "It's been a while since we've gone out. Plus, I need to make sure that the new bartender I hired is handling things."

Felicity froze with a French fry halfway to her mouth. "Um." She had promised Oliver and Digg that she would go to the lair that night so Digg could begin training her in self-defense. She was supposed to go directly after she was finished with dinner, and she didn't know how long it was going to take.

"Come on, Lis!" Thea pleaded. "I _have_ to check out this new bartender. I don't want to do it by myself!"

Forgetting about her dilemma for a brief moment, Felicity's eyes narrowed at her best friend. "Wait a second. When you say that you want to check out the new bartender, you mean that you actually want to _check him out_ , don't you?"

"Well." Thea's cheeks turned bright red and she fiddled with her napkin in her lap. She normally wasn't so shy when it came to talking about boys, so Felicity knew that she really liked whoever this guy was. "Yeah. But Lis, you should see him. He's so hot!"

Thea looked so excited about the prospect of seeing the guy again, Felicity just couldn't say no. So she told Thea that she would meet her at the club around eleven o'clock, and then she finished her dinner and headed to the lair. Oliver and Digg were already doing some training, so Felicity took the opportunity to get changed.

Emerging from the bathroom in a pair of spandex shorts and a tank top, Felicity walked to the edge of the training mat and watched Oliver and Digg spar with judo sticks. She was absolutely fascinated by the way they trained, but the longer Felicity stood there, the more she found her eyes drawn to him.

Oliver Queen truly was a beautiful man. He was standing in front of her, training without a shirt on, and Felicity was completely distracted by the broad expanse of his chest. It took her a few moments, but she realized that his chest, abdomen, and back were littered with scars.

This was the first time Felicity had truly seen Oliver without a shirt on since his return. She knew that he had been through some horrific things while he had been missing, but she hadn't realized just how much. Those scars were signs of torture and pain, and Felicity's heart broke all over again for him.

She was embarrassed to feel tears forming in her eyes. Ever since the night she had broken down as Oliver held her, she had a bit more susceptible to crying where Oliver was concerned. She supposed five years of suppressed emotions could do that to a person.

Of course, that was the moment that Oliver noticed she was standing there. He signaled for Digg to stop sparring, but his brow furrowed in concern when he noticed the look on Felicity's face.

"Felicity, what's wrong?" he demanded.

Oliver had so much to worry about already. Felicity didn't want to add on to the stress he was feeling by dumping her emotions on him. So she pushed her feelings down and managed to smile for Oliver.

"I'm fine," she told him. He opened his mouth to press the issue, but Felicity cut him off by holding up her hand. "Let's just get this training started with already. I promised Thea I'd meet her at the club tonight."

Oliver looked like he wanted to argue further, but thankfully, Digg stepped in. "Have you done any kind of training before?"

"Thea and I took kickboxing classes once. She picked it up really easily, and she's even done a couple of other martial arts classes. I'd rather stick to zumba, on the other hand." Felicity noticed that Oliver was still watching her as he tried to figure out what she was upset about. He seemed surprised when Felicity mentioned that Thea was taking different martial arts classes, however.

"Thea is taking classes about martial arts?" Oliver asked. He looked thoughtful but unsure of that information. Maybe he was actually considering letting Thea in on his not so little secret now that he knew she was capable of defending herself.

"Yeah," Felicity confirmed. "She's really good at it. It makes shopping with her in busy stores interesting, too." She smiled reassuringly at Oliver and squeezed his arm. She was incredibly aware of the fact that Oliver still wasn't wearing a shirt, and she couldn't help but feel a little flustered. It really was so unfair that he was so attractive.

Digg chuckled and led Felicity over to the training mat. "Well this is all about learning the basics so you can defend yourself," Digg said. "So let's get started."

An hour later, Felicity groaned as she landed on the mat once again. She pressed her face to the cool material of the mat and closed her eyes. Felicity was pretty sure that her entire body was just once big bruise at this point.

"Just leave me here," Felicity moaned. "Ugh, this is awful."

Digg was doing most of her training, but Oliver had been watching and checking in on her progress between his own workouts. He headed over to the training mat and offered her his hand. Felicity took it gratefully and winced as she climbed back to her feet.

"It's going to take some time," Digg encouraged. "But you're doing well so far. This is just the first session, after all."

Felicity sighed heavily and looked at the bruise that had already formed on her knee. She had come down hard on it when she had been trying to avoid a strike from Digg, but he had managed to get her anyway when he had tripped her. Felicity's weapon of choice was typically a keyboard, so she wasn't quite used to the hand-to-hand fighting. She hoped that Digg was right, though, and that she would get at least a little bit better.

Felicity was surprised when she felt Oliver's hand cover the back of her neck. He gently kneaded at the tense muscles there, and Felicity couldn't help the little moan of appreciation that escaped her. Oliver's eyes immediately darkened, and his hand paused on the back of her neck.

Diggle chuckled and shook his head. "I'm going to shower and get changed before we head up to the club," he said. He walked away from Felicity and Oliver, still laughing to himself, and it made Felicity's cheeks turn bright red.

Oliver had resumed rubbing the back of her neck, and it took everything in Felicity not to melt against him. She couldn't bring herself to step away from him and break their contact, either. So Felicity stood there as Oliver kneaded at the tense muscles of her neck and shoulders. Her whole body was practically becoming putty under his hands, and she was pretty sure that Oliver knew it.

Oliver's large hand curled around her left shoulder, and she could feel his warm breath puff across her ear. "Are you going to tell me what you were so upset about earlier?" he murmured.

Despite the heady touch of Oliver's hands against her skin, his words were enough to make Felicity jump back. The distance between her and Oliver helped clear her head a little, but it was like she could still feel his fingers burning across her skin.

"Oliver…" Felicity bit her lip as she studied him. He still wasn't wearing a shirt, and they were standing so close that she could clearly make out all of the scars on his body. Her eyes traced over a particularly vicious one by his left shoulder, and Felicity suddenly felt like she was going to cry again.

Oliver knew exactly what she was looking at, but he wanted her to say it. "You know you can tell me anything, Felicity," he told her.

Of course she did. Felicity knew that no matter what happened, Oliver would always be there for her. Felicity released a slow breath and took a step closer to him, closing the distance between them once more. She reached out and touched the scar on his right shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Oliver, I'm so, so sorry."

Oliver didn't say anything, but his jaw tightened. After she traced the round scar on his right shoulder, her fingers moved all the way across his chest, to the jagged scar on his left shoulder. She traced her fingers to the Bratva star on the left side of his chest, positive that there was interesting story behind _that_.

Another scar ran diagonally down the left side of his ribcage, and Felicity's fingers traced that one. Before she could move on to the next scar, Oliver's hand wrapped around her wrist. He tugged her towards him until they were standing chest to chest. His other hand came up to cup her cheek, his calloused thumb brushing away the tears that Felicity hadn't realized had fallen.

Oliver leaned forward and pressed his lips to Felicity's forehead. She closed her eyes and molded her body to his, wrapping her arms around his middle as she held on to him. Oliver locked his arms around Felicity and held her close.

Oliver hadn't let a person touch him as intimately as Felicity just had since his return from the island. He was never able to deny anything Felicity had asked of him, and that wasn't about to change now.

Felicity seemed to know that this was a big deal for Oliver. "Thank you," she whispered against his chest.

* * *

 **twenty-seven.**

Tapping furiously on her keyboard, Felicity's eyes scanned the screen in front of her. She kept her eyes on the target she was currently tracking as she simultaneously pulled up another program that would run the plates of the stolen car the criminal was currently in.

Weapons were being stolen and used to commit robberies throughout the Glades. Felicity had spent two days tracking the patterns of the robberies before she finally managed to ping where they would be making the next order of weapons being stolen. Digg and Oliver had suited up and gone out, leaving Felicity to guide them to the location.

"Take a left on Fordham Road!" Felicity directed. She heard the tires of Oliver's bike screech as he successfully made the turn, and Felicity could have sworn her heart was in her chest. Not being able to see what was going on, but being able to hear it was nerve wracking.

Digg was coming at the target from the opposite direction, and he was the first to get a visual. "I see him!"

"Coming up behind him now." Oliver's voice was low and dangerous, and it shouldn't have sent a thrill through Felicity, but it did anyway. Despite the way her pulse quickened, she still managed to keep her focus on tracking the target

There were screeches as the car they were tracking skidded to a stop. It was followed by a series of grunts and the sound of an arrow whistling through the air. Felicity waited with her fingers poised over the keyboard as she chewed nervously on her bottom lip. She heard the sound of a fist slamming into soft flesh over and over again, and then there was silence.

Several tense beats passed before Felicity couldn't take it anymore. "Oliver? Oliver, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Oliver assured her. "We both are. We're headed back to the lair now."

Felicity paced back and forth, her heels clicking a high staccato on the floor. She was unable to sit still and simply wait for Oliver and Diggle to get back. She had to see with her own two eyes that they were truly alright before she could relax.

Finally, she heard the chimes that signaled the lair was being unlocked, and Felicity eyes were immediately on Oliver as he crossed the threshold. Digg was following close behind him, and even though they both looked a little tired, neither looked worse for wear

"Yes!" Felicity exclaimed with a fist pump. "We did it!" She launched herself across the room and into Oliver's arms. He easily caught her against him, even though he hadn't been expecting her to attach herself to him. He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her, though, and Felicity smiled into his chest.

The slick, green leather stuck to Felicity's cheek, and she couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her. She looked up just in time to see Oliver arch an eyebrow at her, and she could only smile up at him in return. The mission was a success, and no one (other than the bad guys) had gotten hurt. After all was said and done, Felicity considered it a pretty good night.

"I don't think I've ever seen so much hugging down here before," Digg quipped.

Felicity stood on her tiptoes to peek over Oliver's shoulder. "Be quiet, John Diggle. You're next."

True to her word, when Felicity finally released Oliver, she hugged Digg tightly. He seemed surprise at first, but he returned the embrace nonetheless. Felicity reached up and patted his cheek when she pulled away. He was helping to keep Oliver safe, and Felicity couldn't be more grateful to him. Digg's kind eyes were full of understanding—somehow, he knew exactly what Felicity was thinking.

"That was _amazing_ ," Felicity declared. "You guys have really been doing this for the past couple of months?"

Digg gave Oliver a meaningful look that the other man steadfastly ignored. "It hasn't always been that easy."

Felicity's lips pressed together. She didn't miss the hidden meaning in Digg's words; he was obviously talking about all of the casualties that had happened in Oliver's quest for justice. Casting a sidelong glance at the man in question, Felicity saw Oliver shift uncomfortably.

Somehow, even though Oliver had put arrows in several people, Felicity knew that Oliver wasn't really someone who enjoyed killing. Having known Oliver Queen her whole life, Felicity knew that no matter what happened or what he went through while he had been on the island, he was a good person.

"Felicity, you don't have to do this," Oliver suddenly said.

Felicity's brow furrowed as she looked over at Oliver. He was tense, his fists clenched at his sides, and he looked like he needed to hit something. "Oliver, what are you talking about?" she demanded.

"All of this," Oliver gestured around the liar. "It's too much. I can't ask you to be a part of something. This isn't… you."

Digg had wisely slipped off somewhere, leaving Oliver and Felicity alone. She took a few steps back from him as her eyes narrowed. She didn't like the tone that Oliver was using with her—like she was a child that needed to be coddled. Felicity shook her head and geared up to give Oliver Queen a lecture.

(She had given him several impressive lectures over the course of their friendship. Honestly, he should have expected it at this point.)

"It isn't me? What the hell does that mean? I'm not stupid, Oliver. I know you've put arrows into plenty of people already. I also know that those people have done horrible, terrible things. That's not to say that they deserved to die. I'm no one's judge and jury. But I also know that everything isn't black and white. Sometimes, you have to do things that aren't that great in order to succeed."

"Felicity." Oliver had always had this way of packing so much meaning into just her name, and it sent a little thrill through her. Oliver sighed heavily and dragged a hand through his hair as he watched her with an expression that she couldn't quite read.

"I can't ask you to compromise yourself for this," he finally said.

Felicity took a few steps closer to him. "I'm not. I know that what you're doing is going to help this city. This city needs you, Oliver." She didn't mention that she needed him too, but those words went unspoken anyway.

Shaking his head, Oliver looked away from her and said nothing. Felicity closed the remaining distance between them and pressed her hand to his chest. That made his head snap towards hers, and his eyes darkened. Felicity swallowed hard and her stomach swooped.

"I told you I would help, Oliver. I meant it. You can't get rid of me that easily." Felicity smiled at him, and Oliver's eyes locked on hers. She was relieved when he returned her smile, and she patted his chest.

Feeling like he needed to be reminded, Felicity ended her lecture with the same thing she said to him every time: "You're a good man, Oliver Queen."

* * *

 **twenty-eight.**

"So how long have you been in love with Oliver?"

Felicity choked on her coffee and almost spilled it all over herself. "Wh-what?" she spluttered.

Digg gave her a knowing look and grinned at her. "You heard me," he said.

Deciding that it was safer to set her coffee aside for the rest of this conversation, Felicity pushed her cup to the middle of the table and tried to look as nonchalant as possible. She knew twin spots of color were forming on her cheeks, and she cursed her tendency to blush so easily.

"I'm not in love with Oliver," Felicity said immediately. Digg just arched an eyebrow in her direction, and Felicity huffed. Looking down at her hands, she said, "I guess I don't really know when it happened. I've been in love with him for as long as I can remember. Since I was four years old, maybe. But it doesn't matter now, anyway."

Digg tilted his head at her. "Why doesn't it matter?" he asked.

Felicity sighed and started to fiddle with her coffee cup. "Everything is… different, now. Back when I was still in high school, he was dating Laurel and there was that whole thing that no sane person would want to get in the middle of. And then we thought he was dead for five years. I don't think I ever really came to terms with it." It was hard for Felicity to admit to herself, but she never really had made peace with Oliver's disappearance. At that time, all Felicity could think about was the missed opportunities and how she never had the chance to tell Oliver how she felt. More than that, she just missed him terrible.

"He's back now, though," Digg pointed out. "So you can finally tell him how you feel."

Felicity scoffed and finally looked up at Digg. "I can't! He went through so much during those five years on the island. I can't even imagine what happened to him. I can't just go up to him and say, 'I'm super glad you're alive, Oliver. By the way, I've been in love with you since I was four years old.' I just can't, okay?"

"Felicity—"

"Besides, he has this whole crusade against the people who are corrupting the city. I think he's a little preoccupied at the moment."

Digg put his hand over hers to stop her from rambling any more. "Felicity, I don't think you realize how much Oliver needs you."

Felicity shrugged her shoulders and tried to play it off. "I mean, we have been best friends since we were children."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it. Just being around you helps Oliver. I don't think I've ever seen him as relaxed as he was when he was with you."

Pressing her lips together, Felicity leaned back in her chair as she contemplated what Digg was saying to her. Over the past couple of months that they had been working together, Digg had become one of the people that Oliver trusted the most. Felicity wanted to believe that there was some truth to what he was saying, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.

"I can't push him," Felicity finally said. The truth was, Felicity was terrified to reveal her feelings. She had held on to them for so long, she wasn't sure what would happen if they were suddenly out in the open. "He doesn't need that kind of pressure right now."

Digg gave her a sympathetic look. "You can't wait for him forever, Felicity."

"Oliver is worth waiting for," Felicity said. And that was that.

* * *

 **twenty-nine.**

Oliver slammed his bow and arrow down and stalked over to the other side of the liar. He began to strip the leather off piece by piece and throw it to the ground with way more force than was necessary. The rest of his gear was peeled off and tossed aside with equal vehemence.

Felicity was reminded of the little mini hissy fits that Oliver used to throw when they were in high school. Oliver might have had impressive control over his emotions now, but he definitely had a flair for dramatics back when they were younger.

"Um…" Felicity swiveled in her chair as Digg came down the stairs and into the lounge. Now dressed in his leather pants and black t-shirt, Oliver stalked into the training room and immediately started wailing on the punching bag. "Do I want to know what happened?"

Digg shook his head. "It's the Dark Archer," he said. "He hit again and managed to get away."

Sighing, Felicity looked towards where Oliver was driving his fists into the punching bag. Oliver had gone up against the Dark Archer several times, and every single time it had been a struggle. The Dark Archer didn't show the same restraint Oliver did, and he didn't care for and value human life the way that Oliver did.

Apparently, before Felicity had joined their little Team Arrow, Oliver had been seriously injured by the dark Archer. Somehow, this guy was connected with whatever was going on with the list Oliver had, so Oliver felt even more pressure to catch this guy.

"We think he's a part of the League of Assassins," Digg revealed.

"The League of Assassins?" Felicity frowned. "Aren't they supposed to be some kind of urban legend or something?"

Digg shrugged his shoulders. He was tense and there was a furrow between his brows that seemed to be etched there permanently. "When I was in Afghanistan, we heard a lot about the League. It's not good, Felicity. And if they've somehow managed to find their way into Starling…"

"Some very bad things could happen," Felicity concluded. She spun back towards her computer and started tapping away at the keyboard. "Let me see what I can find about the League of Assassins."

"Don't!"

The sharp word reverberated through the lair. Felicity and Digg shared a look as Oliver stalked back towards them. The look on his face could only be described as pure fury, but neither Digg nor Felicity backed down.

"Oliver," Felicity began, but he shook his head.

"Don't," he repeated.

Out of the corner of her eye, Felicity noticed Digg slip away. She huffed indignantly. "You know, you're going to have to stop running away when Oliver and I get into it!" she exclaimed after Digg's retreating back. As soon as the words left her mouth, Felicity slapped her palm to her forehead. "I didn't mean for that to come out that way!"

"Sure you didn't!" Digg called, but he still left the lair anyway. Felicity heard the door to the lair click shut behind him, and she rolled her eyes. Turning back to Oliver, she saw that he hadn't reacted to Digg's leaving at all. He was standing with his arms crossed over his (impressive) chest, and there was a dark glare furrowing his brow.

Staying in her chair, Felicity swiveled towards Oliver. She could practically feel the anger rolling off of him in waves, and she pressed her lips together. "Oliver," she tried again, but he made a noise that could only be considered a growl.

Mouth dropping open in surprise, Felicity blinked at Oliver. "Did you just _growl_ at me?"

Instead of answering her question, Oliver said, "You are not going to look into anything involving the League of Assassins," he ordered. "You're going to stay out of this, Felicity."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm serious. I don't want you going anywhere near this."

Felicity shot out of her chair. She couldn't believe what Oliver was saying. She didn't think he had ever spoken like this to her before. "Oliver, you can't just order me around like this!"

"Yes I can!" Oliver had suddenly closed the distance between the two of them and was gripping her upper arms so tightly it almost hurt. But she didn't wince and she didn't look away from his eyes. They were so full of pain and anger and worry that Felicity didn't even know where to begin.

Oliver's voice dropped to a whisper. "I can't let you get hurt, Felicity. I can't let it happen. And if the League of Assassins gets involved, we'll all be caught in the crossfire."

"We need to stop the Dark Archer," Felicity whispered. "We need to find out more about him."

Oliver worked hard to calm himself down. Felicity could see him visibly force himself to relax, and his grip slackened on her arms, even though he didn't let her go. "We will. But please don't do it through the League of Assassins."

"Okay." Felicity pressed her hands to Oliver's chest. She could feel his heart thudding under her palm, and she curled her fingers into his shirt. "Okay. I won't."

Oliver's arms banded around Felicity in a quick, fierce hug, and then he let her go. Felicity couldn't help the way her eyes went wide, but she tried to keep a lock on her emotions as she forced a smile on to her lips.

"I'm hungry," Felicity suddenly declared. They both needed a break, and they needed to get out of the lair. The air between them was heavy with tension, and Felicity just wanted it gone.

Oliver gave her a relieved look. "Big Belly Burger?" he suggested, and Felicity nodded her head.

As they left the lair, Oliver's hand hovered over the small of her back then entire way.

* * *

 **thirty.**

Taking a sip of her wine, Felicity leaned against the bar as she surveyed the investor dinner she was being forced to attend. Given that she worked in the IT department, more often than not she was able to get out of going to the boring dinners. This time, though, her father forced her to make an appearance, and Felicity had grudgingly decided to go when she found out that Tommy and Thea were going to be in attendance, as well.

Thea had already disappeared—off to text the new bartender she had a crush on, Felicity was sure—and Tommy had escaped to the bathroom. Felicity had been surprised to see Oliver in attendance when she had arrived. So far, he hadn't escaped from the investors that had him backed into a corner, so they hadn't done anything more than exchange a wave in greeting.

"Ms. Smoak! You're looking lovely this evening."

Felicity looked up and almost choked on her wine when she saw Malcolm Merlyn suddenly standing on her right side. She managed to successfully recover and sent the older man a polite smile. Tommy Merlyn might have been one of her closest, dearest friends, but she was not a fan of his father.

"Hello, Mr. Merlyn," Felicity greeted. She shifted away from him slightly and wished that someone—anyone—would come and save her.

"How are things going at QC?" Malcolm asked. "You know, we were very sad when they snatched you up before us. We had a spot ready for you at Merlyn Global Group, you know."

"Yes, I know. Queen Consolidated got to me first, though." That, and Tommy had told Felicity that under no circumstances was she to accept the position from his father. When Felicity had asked why (not that she was planning on accepting Merlyn's offer, anyway), Tommy had just shook his head, but Felicity knew the real answer. Malcolm Merlyn wasn't the same man he had been when Tommy's mother had died.

Malcolm's face was unreadable as he leaned against the bar and looked towards where Oliver was standing. "I guess everything worked out for the best, then," Malcolm said. They both noticed that Oliver was watching them from where he was still trapped by the investors. Felicity sent him a small, tight smile to let him know that she was okay.

"Besides," Malcolm continued. "We all know how much Oliver Queen needs you."

Felicity coughed and pressed her hand to her chest. A million thoughts were running through her mind: there was no possible way that Malcolm could know about Oliver being the vigilante, so he couldn't know that she was helping him, either. Felicity sincerely hoped that Malcolm also wasn't referring to the fact that she was in love with Oliver. That would mean that too many people knew, and that was just too embarrassing for Felicity to contemplate.

Thankfully, Tommy chose that moment to reappear again. "Father," Tommy said sharply. "Don't you have some personal assistant to yell at or something?"

Malcolm raised his glass as he left Tommy and Felicity, which she could not have been more thankful for. Felicity shuddered and downed the rest of her glass of wine as Tommy was already waving at the bartender to bring them another drink. Sighing, Felicity spun the stem of the empty wine glass between her fingers.

"Your dad is creepy," she finally stated.

Tommy burst out laughing, instantly relieving the tension. He patted her on the back as he handed her another wine glass. Felicity shrugged her shoulders as she lifted the glass to her lips. Tommy shook his head, still laughing at Felicity's bluntness.

"I'm not sorry," Felicity added.

"Don't be, because you're not wrong," Tommy agreed. "I'm sorry he cornered you like that."

"Eh, I've survived worse." Especially since she had already been through finding her best friend bleeding from a bullet wound. Felicity now considered herself an expert at getting through weird events in her life. "I bet you're just thrilled about attending the award ceremony for him, though."

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Don't remind me. At least you guys will all be there to suffer through it with me."

They would be attending an award ceremony to honor Malcolm Merlyn in three days, and they were all stressing out about it. Tommy was right, though; at least they would all be together, and it would be slightly more bearable. Felicity knew that Oliver was dreading it just as much as Tommy was.

Without realizing it, Felicity's eyes sought out Oliver. He was still with the investors on the other side of the dining room. He seemed more relaxed now that she was with Tommy instead of Malcolm, now. Completely ignoring the investors, Oliver looked over the head of the one in front of him and made eye contact with Felicity. She smiled at him, and one corner of his mouth lifted up in an adorable half smile in return.

"You two disgust me," Tommy said, pulling Felicity from her thoughts.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Felicity said immediately. Even as she spoke, her cheeks turned bright red. Felicity had never expressly told Tommy about her feelings for Oliver, but of course he knew about them anyway. Tommy had a weird talent for figuring out other people's secrets.

Tommy snorted. "Yeah right. I know you've been in love with Oliver since we were kids."

"Oh my god." Felicity groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Does everyone know?"

Taking a sip of his scotch, Tommy grinned and nodded his head. "Everyone except Oliver, apparently."

"Well that's just great." Felicity finished the rest of her wine again and didn't argue when Tommy ordered another one. She had a feeling that she was going to need it if they were going to be talking about _feelings_ all night.

Tommy wrapped an arm around Felicity's shoulders and squeezed her tightly. "Don't worry, Lis. We love you and we're rooting for you."

Felicity could hear the sincerity in Tommy's voice and she sighed and returned his hug. He patted her back comfortingly and then pulled away far enough to gesture for a waiter. He plucked the wine glass from Felicity's hand and set it on the bar.

"Okay, I don't care what anyone has to say," Tommy told her. "We're going to make this night fun again and make it just like old times. We're going to need something stronger for tonight." The waiter Tommy had gestured to reappeared with a bottle of tequila, a shaker of salt, and a bowl full of limes. "I'll go get Thea. You need to go and rescue Oliver."

She knew exactly what Tommy was doing. Felicity narrowed her eyes in a glare at him. "You're evil, Tommy Merlyn."

He just smirked at her before he disappeared through the crowd with the tray of tequila and all the accessories in hand. Felicity sighed and smoothed her hand over bun her hair was wrapped in. She was wearing a black dress with thick straps and a skirt that flared out at the hips. It was kind of boring, compared to the bright colors she usually wore, but it was necessary for an investor dinner such as this.

Felicity plastered a bright smile on her face as she slipped in next to Oliver. The bankers he was discussing his family's company with looked delighted to see her, and she exchanged greetings with them. Felicity slipped both of her hands around Oliver's arm. He immediately relaxed further, and a small, real smile formed on her lips as she looked up at him.

"I'm sorry," Felicity said politely. "But I'm going to need to borrow Oliver for a little while. We have some things to catch up on." She added a well-placed giggle for affect and let the bankers think whatever they wanted about her vague statement. It worked, because they smiled indulgently and waved the young pair off.

"Nicely done," Oliver commented as they turned away, leaving the dinner behind. "I'm assuming you have a plan, then?"

Felicity grinned at him and patted his chest. "Of course I do, courtesy of Tommy Merlyn."

Naturally, Tommy and Thea were already up in Thea's suite. It didn't take long for Felicity and Oliver to join them, and Thea immediately handed Felicity a shot glass full of tequila. She knocked it back and grimaced at the taste. She much rather preferred tequila in margaritas, but licking the salt and sucking on the lime after the shot lessened the sting of the alcohol. As she discarded the lime in the trashcan, she noticed Oliver watching her with an impressed look.

"What?" Felicity asked. She pressed her lips together and willed herself not to blush. Was it her imagination, or was Oliver's gaze actually a little heated? She blinked her eyes and shook her head; she was probably seeing things. Felicity was definitely going to have to pace herself if the alcohol was already getting to her.

The corner of Oliver's mouth turned up. "Nothing," he finally said. "I just hadn't realized you got so good at taking shots of tequila."

"I would much rather have it in margaritas," Felicity admitted. She flinched when Thea launched a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top at her and sent a scowl her way.

"Yeah, Felicity is a big baby about tequila," Thea said as she came back into the room. She had already changed into her pajamas and had washed the makeup off of her face. Felicity sent her an envious look and rolled her eyes, but Thea just grinned evilly.

"And if you give her enough tequila, she'll shut up about it," Thea added.

Grumbling under her breath, Felicity jumped up and headed into the bathroom to change out of her restrictive formal wear. She pulled her hair loose and ran her fingers through it as the pleasant buzz of the alcohol spread through her body. She just needed to relax and focus on having fun for the night.

An hour and a half later, every occupant in the room was either well on their way to drunk, or past it. Felicity was surprised that Oliver had done just as many shots of tequila (if not more) than the rest of them. He wasn't as drunk as she and Thea were, but he was definitely buzzed. Tommy was somewhere in between—but then again, he had spent years perfecting the art of pretending like he wasn't as wasted as he actually was.

Thea had already taken up her spot sleeping on the bathroom floor. Tommy was passed out in front of the television, and Felicity had taken up residence in the California king bed. She stared up at the canopy above her head as the room spun around her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that she was going to end up with a miserable hangover, but she couldn't really bring herself to care.

Oliver was standing by the window with his arms crossed over his chest. Before Felicity could even think about it, the words were already leaving her mouth: "Oliver, come to bed."

Turning to look over his shoulder, Oliver studied Felicity lying in the bed. His eyes were so dark that Felicity wasn't sure what to make of it. She was drunk and she was tired, and the only thing on her mind in that moment was going to sleep.

Thankfully, Oliver didn't say anything. He climbed into the bed and rolled on his side to face Felicity. Her arms remained stretched across the bed towards him, and he reached towards her in return. Their fingers brushed, and Felicity's eyes finally drifted shut.

* * *

 **thirty-one.**

Felicity was just about to leave for lunch when Oliver burst into her office. The frantic look on his face made Felicity's heart jump up into her throat, and she dropped her purse. Reaching out, she gripped his arm tightly in her hand.

"Oliver, what's wrong?" she demanded. They had just found out that one of Oliver's previous targets, Deadshot, actually wasn't dead. He was partnered with the Triad for some reason, but that was a mystery to solve another time. Meanwhile, Felicity had been trying to break an encryption on a phone they had found from another assassin to try and find out what his target was. While the program was running, Felicity figured she might as well go to work and focus on her actual job.

"Your program to break the encryption finished running," Oliver aid. "We know who the target is. It's Malcolm Merlyn."

Felicity's mouth dropped open, and she gaped at Oliver. "What?" she finally managed to get out. "Are you kidding me? Why the hell would Malcolm Merlyn be the target of an assassin?"

Oliver's eyes grew stormy and dark, and his jaw clenched. "I don't know," he murmured. "But we're going to need to keep an eye on him. They plan on striking during the gala."

Cursing under her breath, Felicity ran a hand through her hair. "Tommy isn't in any danger, is he?" she demanded. "If Merlyn is a target, who's to say that Tommy isn't?"

"I know." Reaching out, Oliver squeezed Felicity's shoulder reassuringly. "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that Tommy is safe."

Smiling slightly, Felicity reached up and covered Oliver's hand with her own. "I know you will. But maybe…" She winced, because she knew that Oliver definitely wasn't going to like this suggestion. "Maybe you should consider telling Tommy what's going on."

"Felicity…" Oliver's eyes narrowed. "I'm not telling Tommy that I'm the vigilante."

"Oliver," Felicity said in the same tone of voice he just used. "It might actually work out if you tell him. Tommy loves you. You know that he's not going to think any differently of you when he finds out. I certainly don't."

Some of the tenseness left Oliver's shoulders as he looked down into Felicity's earnest eyes. He pulled her close, clutching her to his chest tightly for a brief moment. Then he let go of her and stepped away, and Felicity blinked in surprise.

Oliver cleared his throat. "You can bring your tablet tonight, right?" he asked. Changing the subject completely seemed to be the safest course of action.

"Well, I don't know if it will match with the dress I have picked out…" At the look on Oliver's face, Felicity held her hands up. "Chill out, Oliver. It was just a joke."

He released a breath and scrubbed a hand over his face. "I know, I'm sorry. This just has to be the worst possible time for Malcolm to be a target."

"I know." Felicity really wanted to reach out again and touch him, but she hadn't missed how Oliver had purposefully put space between them after he had hugged her. So instead, she just smiled reassuringly at him. "But it's going to work out."

"How do you know?" Oliver asked.

Felicity shrugged her shoulders as she stooped to pick up her purse again. "Because I refuse to believe that it's going to be any other way."

* * *

 **thirty-two.**

"If you stare any harder at her, you might burn a hole through her body."

Oliver's brow furrowed as he turned to glare at Tommy. "Dude, shut the hell up."

Tommy took a swig of the scotch he had clenched tightly in his hand. "This is the only thing keeping me amused right now," he said. "You have to give me something, man."

Across the room, Felicity had no idea that Tommy and Oliver were talking about her. She was too busy looking at the way the skirt of her emerald green ball gown swung around her feet. She might not have waned to attend the gala, but she had to admit that wearing a gorgeous dress (and seeing Oliver in tuxedo) kind of made it all worth it.

It was a strapless ball gown with a sweetheart neckline. The bodice was encrusted with tiny jewels and the skirt flared out gently at her hips and all the way to the floor. The best part of the gown was the completely open back. Felicity didn't normally wear something so daring, but she decided to go all out for the occasion.

Tommy and Oliver crossed the ballroom until they came to a stop by Felicity and Thea. Tommy ordered another drink and knocked it back before ordering another one. He noticed the way that Oliver, Felicity, and Thea were all staring at him, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"What? I need to drink as much as possible before my father's speech." Tommy stared down at his empty glass and snorted. "I can't believe he's getting an award for being a humanitarian. What a fucking joke."

Thea pressed her lips together sympathetically. "Someone please go find Laurel for him. Tommy needs to cheer up a little."

Felicity looked up at Oliver to see how he reacted to that particular statement. While he seemed pretty okay with the fact that his ex-girlfriend and his best friend were in a serious relationship, Felicity imagined that it still had to be something he struggled to get over.

Oliver wasn't even focused on their conversation, however. Instead, his eyes were narrowed as he looked around the room. He inspected every single thing and every single person, and his gaze was so intense that it was a wonder no one had noticed. Out of sight of their friends, Felicity reached for his hand and tangled their fingers together. She tugged gently, hoping to garner his attention.

Thankfully, Oliver looked down at her. Felicity smiled and nudged him with her elbow. "Relax a little, Oliver," she murmured under her breath.

Of course, Oliver didn't relax. But he did squeeze her fingers, and he didn't stare so hard at the other guest of the gala. Felicity rolled her eyes affectionately at him, but what neither of them realized was that Tommy and Thea hadn't missed their little exchange. They were both smiling broadly at their best friends, and it was Oliver who noticed it first.

"What?" he demanded.

Tommy smirked at him. "Nothing," he said quickly. He shared a knowing look with Thea, and Felicity resolutely ignored them. She plucked a flute of champagne off of the tray of a passing a waiter and sipped at it slowly. She had managed to transfer the information and the tracking devices they had placed on Malcolm Merlyn to her phone, and it was tucked safely in her purse. Still, it was nerve wracking to think about how anything could happen at any moment. Digg, of course, had taken up post with the other bodyguards in attendance, but he circled the ballroom much more often than his associates. Felicity felt some comfort knowing that both Digg and Oliver were keeping an eye on things.

"I'm going to find Laurel before my dad starts his speech," Tommy announced.

Thea pulled her phone out of her clutch and smiled at whatever was on the screen. "And I'm going to take this call."

"Wait!" Felicity tried to grab Thea's arm, but she slipped away. "Is it that hot bartender you like?" Felicity called after her.

Thea just grinned, and Felicity laughed and shook her head. She welcomed Thea's antics after the tenseness of the night so far. Felicity turned to Oliver, but he was watching her with narrowed eyes.

"What?" Felicity asked.

"Hot bartender?" Oliver questioned. "Who the hell is the hot bartender?"

Felicity shook her head. "No. Oh no. You are not doing this right now." She grabbed Oliver's hand and towed him out towards the dance floor. "Oliver Queen, you are going to stay out here on the dance floor with me, and you are not going to worry about what Thea is doing right now."

Despite the glare on his face, Oliver's lips turned up in a small smile. Having that smile directed at her made Felicity's heart skip a beat, and she turned her face away from him so he couldn't see her blush.

They swayed together on the dance floor for about half a song before an alarm pierced the air. Oliver's body immediately locked up, and his hands tightened on Felicity's waist. He swung her towards Digg, who had suddenly appeared.

"Get her out of here," Oliver ordered. "I have to go."

Oliver was gone before Felicity could even say another word. She glared up at Digg and dug her feet into the floor. "I'm staying," she snapped.

Digg sighed heavily. "I figured as much."

The crowd surrounding them ran out of the ballroom, and Felicity and Digg hid in one of the alcoves by the elevators. In the distance, they could hear gunshots, and both of them knew it was the Triad. Digg gave Felicity a grim look, and she grabbed her phone and drew up the blueprints for the building. She couldn't just stand there. They had to do _something_.

Frantically, Felicity searched for a way to get up to the penthouse without taking the main staircase. Sure enough, there was a service stairway that led up to the floor just under the penthouse. Felicity would be able to access the actual penthouse itself by hacking the keypad.

It threw a real monkey wrench into their plans that Malcolm had taken Tommy up to the penthouse with him. They had planned on keeping Tommy and Malcolm separated all night, but now that was shot to hell.

Felicity grabbed Digg's arm and began to tow him towards the service stairwell. Thankfully, Digg didn't argue and instead just followed her. Oliver was still somewhere, dealing with the Triad. Felicity cursed and kicked her too-high heels off of her feet as she and Digg ran up the staircase.

"Damn it," she huffed under her breath as Digg pulled ahead of her by jumping more than one step at a time. "I really need to start doing some cardio at the gym."

They had finally reached the floor under the penthouse, and Felicity sprinted towards the keypad next to the elevator. She had hacked it in record time and the elevator dinged when it reached their floor. Digg pushed Felicity in and she was positive that the ride up the single floor took hours.

Finally, they reached the penthouse office. A sharp gasp left Felicity's lips when she realized they were already too late. The windows had been shattered, there were bullets all over the place, and Tommy was crouched over Malcolm Merlyn's prone body. What shocked Felicity even further was how Tommy was holding a gun steady in his hands, aimed at Oliver.

Of course, Tommy didn't know that it was Oliver, since he was clad in his green leather with the hood securely covering his face. That didn't stop Felicity from shrieking Tommy's name.

"Tommy!" Before Digg could stop her, Felicity ran from the elevators and jumped between Oliver and Tommy. She didn't even care when the glass from the windows cut her bare feet.

"Felicity?" Tommy gaped at her in surprise as the gun went slack in his fingers. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Felicity!" Oliver's modulator disguised his voice, but she didn't miss the way he snapped at her.

Tommy's eyes swung from Felicity to Oliver. "You know the vigilante?" he demanded. "Felicity, what the fuck?"

Felicity held up her hands and looked at Oliver over her shoulder. She could see his eyes flash under his hood, and she knew that he was going to have words with her later. Felicity didn't care, though. Oliver's head dipped once and he stepped closer.

"He was poisoned with curare," Oliver said. "I know what to do, I've dealt with it before."

"Felicity," Tommy said again. He sounded almost hysterical, and Felicity crossed the room towards Tommy and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Let him help," Felicity murmured. She looked up at Digg, who was still standing by the elevator. His eyes were constantly scanning the windows and doors, and she knew he was checking to make sure they wouldn't be disrupted by any law enforcement.

Oliver slowly stepped towards them. "In three minutes he'll be paralyzed. In four he'll stop breathing. You have to let me help you."

"How?" Tommy whispered.

"Fresh blood," Oliver answered. "A blood transfusion will keep him stable until we can get him to a hospital."

Straightening his shoulders, Tommy's grip tightened on the gun, but he didn't raise it. "Why should I trust you?"

Felicity saw Oliver pause for a moment before his hand lifted. He turned off the voice modulator and then pulled off his hood. Turning, he raised both of his hands up so Tommy could clearly see his face.

"Because you've always trusted me," Oliver answered.

It happened quickly after that. Oliver set up a blood transfusion between Tommy and Malcolm. The entire time, Tommy was silent as Felicity paced back and forth. Digg hadn't told them they had to leave yet, so Felicity figured they were at least good on time.

"How long have you known?" Tommy suddenly asked. He was staring down at where his blood was flowing into his father, saving his life, but his voice was clear.

Felicity figured Tommy was asking her. "A few months," Felicity admitted.

"And you're not… you weren't… you're helping him?"

"Yes," Felicity admitted. "I am."

It was another few moments before Tommy finally looked over at Oliver. "Do you know how crazy this is?" he asked.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Oliver chuckled. "Yeah, it kind of is."

"And you have Lis helping you? How the hell did that happen?"

Felicity snorted. "That's a story for another time, Tommy."

"Guys." Digg's deep voice cut through the contemplative silence they had fallen into. "We have to get out of here."

Oliver reached out and gripped Tommy's shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

Tommy nodded and looked down at his father. Malcolm had finally started breathing normally again, and some of his color had returned. Oliver's homemade blood transfusion had worked. "We'll be fine," he said. Looking at Oliver he nodded his head once. "We'll talk later."

Dipping his head in acknowledgement, Oliver stood and pulled his hood over his head. He crossed the room to where Felicity was still standing and put his hand on the small of her back, urging her towards the elevator.

"Oliver?" Tommy called.

Stopping, Oliver looked back at his best friend. "Yeah?"

A small smile appeared on Tommy's lips. In that moment, all of them believed that somehow, everything was going to be fine between them. "Thank you."

* * *

 **thirty-three.**

By some miracle, they had made it out of the building and back down to the car without being stopped. Felicity was tired down to her bones by the time they pulled up outside of her apartment. She shifted against the plush leather seats of the car and tried her best to stand up, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Felicity." Oliver's deep voice cut through her tired thoughts, and she looked at him with half-lidded eyes. "You aren't wearing any shoes."

"Oh." Felicity looked down at her bare feet and shrugged her shoulders. "They got in the way when I was trying to run up the stairs."

Oliver got out of the car and went around to Felicity's side. He opened the door and before Felicity could ask what he was doing, he reached in and scooped Felicity into his arms. The skirt of her dress pillowed up around his arms, and Felicity pushed some of the tulle out of her face as she spluttered.

"Oliver Queen! What do you think you're doing?" she demanded. "Put me down! I can walk!"

Oliver didn't acknowledge her protests. Instead, he tapped on Digg's window until he rolled it down. He murmured something to Digg that Felicity couldn't hear, and when Oliver stepped back, Digg pulled the car away from the curb.

"Oliver," Felicity repeated, but he ignored her. He headed into her apartment building instead, and took the elevator to the penthouse apartment her father had insisted on buying for her. When he reached her door, he pulled his own set of keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Felicity's eyebrow arched, but she didn't say anything. She honestly wasn't surprised that Oliver had a set of keys to her apartment.

He still didn't say anything as he walked through her apartment and into her bedroom. Oliver set Felicity on the bed, and then he knelt in front of her and pushed the skirts of her ball gown aside until he could see her feet.

"Did you realize that your feet are bleeding?" Oliver asked.

"I… what?" Felicity was taken aback by that question. "Are they?"

Now that it had been brought to her attention, Felicity was suddenly aware of the sharp, throbbing ache in both of her feet. With a furrowed brow, Felicity lifted the skirt of her dress aside until she could see her feet. Sure enough, she could see some small cuts and dried blood on the bottom of both of her feet. She frowned and then released a heavy sigh. Of course her night would have to end like this.

Standing up, Oliver made a grunting noise and then disappeared into her bathroom. He returned a few moments later with some bandages and disinfectant. Without another word, he knelt down and began to meticulously clean and bandage Felicity's feet. She was sure that it was rather unnecessary, but she also knew that Oliver definitely wasn't in the mood to be argued with at the moment.

When Felicity hissed when the disinfectant hit a particularly sensitive spot, Oliver gave her a sharp look. "You need to be more careful," he grumbled.

"Oliver." Felicity blinked at him and tried to stifle a yawn. She really wanted nothing more than to just go to sleep, but she also wasn't about to allow Oliver to go all grumpy bear on her. "It's just some small cuts on my feet because I wasn't paying attention. It's hardly anything to get worried over."

Oliver's large hand wrapped around her ankle, and Felicity felt a tingle run up her leg. She pressed her lips together to keep the gasp of surprise from escaping and tried to focus on Oliver's face instead. The look he was giving her was so intense that Felicity almost wished she hadn't looked into his dark eyes. She couldn't bring herself to look away, though.

"I need you to stay safe." Oliver's voice was so low that Felicity almost missed it. As soon as she realized the implication of what he was saying, Felicity knew that she wouldn't be able to argue with him about his over-protectiveness. Felicity would have done just about anything for Oliver Queen right then.

Felicity nodded her head once, and Oliver went back to placing the bandages over each and every cut on her foot. Thankfully, there weren't that many. When Oliver had placed the last bandage, his hand stroked over her foot and he stood up.

Reaching out, Felicity caught his hand before he could pull his disappearing act. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

Oliver opened his mouth to brush her off, but when he saw the look on her face, he closed his mouth and sat down next to her on the bed. He sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face, and he looked so exhausted and weary that Felicity's heart broke for him.

"This night could have gone a lot better," Oliver finally said. He peered at her over his fingers from where his hands were still covering his face. "But it also could have been a lot worse."

"Definitely," Felicity agreed immediately. There were so many things that could have gone horribly wrong that night. Despite Malcolm Merlyn's injuries and Tommy finding out about Oliver's alter ego, it actually hadn't been that bad. They should be thankful for small miracles, Felicity supposed.

In a move that was reminiscent of their time growing up together, Oliver flopped back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Tommy. I can't believe that Tommy knows. Did you see the look on his face?"

"Don't freak out," Felicity immediately said. "I think it was just a lot to take in. You were unconscious for most of my freak out, so you didn't get to witness it. But I reacted basically the same way."

Oliver gave Felicity a half-amused, half-exasperated look. He sighed again and closed his eyes as his body sank into the mattress. Felicity's heart stuttered in her chest, and she resisted the urge to reach out and stroke her fingers over the frown lines that seemed permanently embedded in his forehead.

"I'm going to get changed," Felicity said. "Why don't you stay here for a little while? You need some rest."

He was so tired that Oliver didn't even protest. Instead, he sat up long enough to shed his tuxedo jacket and dress shirt and kick off his shoes. He lay down on his side and closed his eyes again, and Felicity smiled before she stood up and headed into the bathroom to change.

She chose her most comfortable and well-worn pajamas—they were covered in cats sitting in front of computers. They were fairly embarrassing, but Felicity needed the nostalgic comfort. She headed back out into her bedroom and was fairly certain that Oliver was already fast asleep.

Felicity grabbed an extra blanket. She figured that she could just sleep in her living room. Oliver didn't get enough sleep as it was, so Felicity wasn't about to disturb what could be a good night's rest. As she was carefully removing an extra pillow from her bed, however, Oliver's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

His eyes cracked open just enough to see her. "Stay," he mumbled before he drifted off to sleep again.

Felicity couldn't have denied him even if she wanted to. She climbed into the bed with Oliver and got settled in on her side facing him. She fell asleep seeing Oliver's face fully relaxed.

When she woke up the next morning, she was plastered over Oliver's chest.

It took her a few moments, but the events of the night before came rushing back to Felicity. She blinked at him with wide eyes, and Oliver stared back at her with an unreadable expression on his face. Several long beats of silence passed between them as Felicity's half-asleep mind scrambled for something—anything—to say.

Finally, she managed to splutter, "Did you sleep alright?"

Oliver continued to stare at her and was silent for so long that Felicity almost started to freak out. Finally, he spoke, and Felicity could feel his voice rumble deep in his chest. "Fine," he said. "I slept fine."

He seemed surprised that those words were leaving his lips. It occurred to Felicity that this must have been some kind of big moment for Oliver. As much as she wanted to ask him about it, she knew that it was better not to push him.

"Let's eat," Felicity suddenly said. She sat up and extracted herself from Oliver's arms. It was only then that she realized they had been wrapped around her, and she was kind of mad that she hadn't taken the time to enjoy it more. "I'm hungry."

Oliver suddenly started to chuckle, and Felicity stopped to stare down at him. Oh god, she didn't have drool somewhere on her face, did she? She self-consciously touched her cheek and hoped that her hair wasn't sticking up in eight hundred directions.

"What?" she asked.

To her surprise, Oliver grinned at her. "I'm really liking your PJs, Felicity."

Rolling her eyes at him, Felicity launched one of her pillows at him. Of course, Oliver dodged it easily, but he continued laughing at her. He had seen her cat and computer pajamas more than once over the years, and it never failed to amuse him.

"I'm glad to see that some things haven't changed," Oliver said.

Felicity beamed at him and tried to ignore the way her heart skipped a beat.

* * *

 **thirty-four.**

Felicity was in the middle of reviewing an order she had placed for some new supplies when the door to her office opened. Looking up over the edge of her flat screen computer monitor, Felicity honestly wasn't surprised when she saw Tommy drop into one of the chairs across from her desk.

He seemed lost in thought, so Felicity decided to give him a few moments to get himself together. She tapped away at her keyboard, glancing up every now and then to check on him. They passed about ten minutes in silence like that.

"Can we get some coffee?" Tommy finally asked.

Felicity smiled reassuringly at him. "Of course," she said to him. The poor guy looked like he needed a little bit of normalcy in his life. Felicity shut down her computer and grabbed her bag. She linked her arm through with Tommy's as they walked down the street to her favorite coffee shop.

They placed their orders, picked off their coffee a few minutes later, and then took picked a table near the windows. Felicity sipped at her latte as she waited for Tommy to begin speaking. As she knew from experience, Oliver's secret life was a lot to take in.

"So," Tommy finally said. "Oliver is the vigilante."

"Yup." Felicity nodded her head and smiled at the dumbstruck look on Tommy's face.

"I talked to him earlier today. Down in your… lair thing."

"And? How did it go?"

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. He spun his cup slowly in his hands as he stared down at the top of it. "It's fine. I can't say that I'm surprised, or anything. It actually makes a lot of sense." Tommy finally looked up at Felicity. "And he saved my dad's life. I might not agree with all of his methods, but… I get it. I think."

"It's a lot," Felicity agreed. "But at his heart, he's still the Oliver Queen that we knew all those years ago. The one he didn't let anyone else see. He just has so much anger now." Felicity bit her lip, and she was glad that she didn't have to hide her feelings for Oliver from Tommy. "It's just so sad."

Finally, a small smirk appeared on Tommy's lips. He was finally starting to look like himself again. "He's a lot less angry when he's around you, Lis."

"Shut up," Felicity retorted immediately. She could feel her cheeks flare bright red, and she tried to hide behind her venti coffee cup.

"Come on, you know it's true! I was there that night too, you know. He relaxed as soon as he realized you were in the room."

"He yelled at me later," Felicity grumbled under her breath. She had to admit, Oliver had totally made up for it with their little cuddle session later that night. She wasn't about to reveal that little tidbit of information to Tommy, though.

Tommy snorted. "That's because Oliver is an idiot. Trust me, Lis. He was just looking out for you."

"Yeah, yeah." Felicity waved her hand dismissively and took another sip of her coffee. She was relieved that Tommy had accepted Oliver's secret, and, by extension, had accepted her involvement in it. "So does that mean you'll be hanging around a lot more?"

"Hell yeah," Tommy said. "I told Oliver that he couldn't keep me out of your little secret hideout. By the way, you do realize that you guys are going to have to tell Thea eventually. You know, since your lair is under her club."

Felicity held her hands up. "I didn't pick the location. I just set up the computers."

Tommy grinned at Felicity, and it finally felt like things were back to normal—well, as normal as they could be given the weird situation they now found themselves in. "So you found out when he got shot?"

"Ugh." Felicity rolled her eyes. "He bled all over my car. I made him get it fixed, of course."

"Serves him right," Tommy agreed.

Together, the two friends finished their coffee and continued to chat. Felicity told Tommy some of the stories of their missions, and Tommy took the information in eagerly. She had a feeling that this was going to become a tradition between the two of them.

* * *

 **thirty-five.**

Adjusting her ear piece, Felicity tapped on the screen of her tablet and cursed when the connection cut out again. The wireless network was cutting out for some reason, and Felicity needed the blueprints of the building Oliver and Digg were currently in the process of breaking in to. There was as high level of security, and it was Felicity's job to make sure no sort of alarm was tripped.

She cursed again when she couldn't get a connection. She would have to connect to the nearest wifi network, which just happened to be in the building they were breaking into. Of course, Felicity was just far away enough from the building to establish a proper connection. The guys had left her in the van, and under no uncertain terms had Oliver told her to stay put.

Well, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. She would be back in the van before they had left the building. So Felicity carefully climbed out of the vehicle and ran over to the side of the building, where she would be safely hidden in the shadows. It took her only seconds to hack into the company's wifi network, and she did a little fist-pump in victory when she pulled up the security schematics for the building.

Felicity was about to alert Oliver and Digg to a potential alarm when a hand covered her mouth. An arm wrapped around her throat, anchoring her body to her captor. Felicity's voice choked off abruptly, and her tablet when tumbling from her hands.

"You don't think I know that your little friends are in the building right now?" a rough voice breathed into her ear. We had a silent alarm in place that was tripped the second they opened the door."

Felicity squeezed her eyes shut and tried to remain calm. If she hadn't lost connection, she could have been able to find that stupid alarm before Oliver and Digg had gone in, and they wouldn't be in this position. She was going to have to set something up so this wouldn't happen again.

If she got out of this situation, that is.

Vaguely, Felicity could hear Oliver's voice calling her name in the earpiece. It wasn't like she could respond, since the guy still had a hand covering her mouth. Suddenly, Digg's training came rushing back to her.

Lifting her foot, Felicity stomped her riding boot down on her captor's foot as hard as she could. She drove her elbow back into his gut and was immediately released as he howled in pain. Felicity tried to scramble away, but she tripped over her tablet. In the middle of her recovery, the guy reached out and grabbed her ponytail, using it to yank her towards him.

Felicity cried out as white hot pain flashed through her body. She kicked out and clawed at the hands of her captor, but she couldn't make him release her. This couldn't be it. Felicity wasn't going to let this be it. She had to figure out how to get out of this.

She heard the whistle of the arrow before she saw it. It zipped past her face and buried itself in the guy's shoulder. He released Felicity immediately, and she jumped away from his body as it fell to the ground. Breathing hard, Felicity looked up to find Oliver standing there with a near murderous look on his face. She could see it even though his hood was pulled low.

Oliver stormed past her and pressed his fingers to the neck of the guy who had tried to attack Felicity. He stood and grumbled, "He's still alive." Striding forward again, he latched on to Felicity's arm and started to two her towards the van.

Digg, of course, was already there and was ready to pull away as soon as they climbed in. He chuckled when Oliver essentially lifted Felicity into the van and slammed the door behind her before climbing in himself. Felicity scowled at Digg and thrust a finger in his direction.

"Not a word," she snapped. She winced when she realized how raw her voice was, and she held her throat in her hands. Felicity wouldn't be surprised if there was some bruising tomorrow.

"You were supposed to stay in the car," Oliver growled as soon as the door was shut behind him.

Well, it was apparent that he wasn't going to wait to get back to the lair to have this conversation, then. "I couldn't leave you guys hanging," Felicity snapped. "I couldn't get a connection, and you tripped a silent alarm because I missed it!"

Felicity fell silent. It had been all her fault. They had tripped the alarm because she couldn't get a connection to properly identify it. She had been attacked because she had to reestablish the connection through the company's wifi. She had never felt so completely and utterly disappointed in herself before.

They all fell silent for the rest of the car ride back to Verdant. Digg hadn't even properly parked the car before Oliver was slamming the door open and jumping out. Felicity scrambled after him, aware that every muscle in her body was already sore. That didn't stop her from racing after him, though.

Felicity followed Oliver all the way down into the lair. He had beaten her there and was already yanking off his green leather piece by piece. Felicity grabbed his arm and yanked on it to get him to stop and finally look at her.

"You should have stayed in the car," Oliver repeated.

Felicity shook her head. "There's nothing that you can say to me that will make me feel worse than I already do. It's my fault."

In the middle of his anger, Oliver came up short. He blinked at her. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"This whole thing is my fault. I should have found the alarm sooner."

"Felicity…" Oliver finally relaxed. She could feel the tension in his arm release under her hand, but she couldn't look him in the eye. "This isn't your fault. Damn it, you shouldn't have even been there in the first place."

That statement made Felicity look up at him. "What do you mean, I shouldn't have been there? You needed me there! And if I had done my job correctly, we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now!"

Her head was pounding and she felt awful. She was supposed to be good at her job. Felicity prided herself on being the best, but she hadn't succeeded tonight and it was already eating away at her. There was too much anger and tension in the room right now, and they weren't going to get anything resolved like this.

Oliver yanked the hood off and tossed it aside. He paced back and forth, and the look on his face was so dark and foreboding that Felicity took a step back. "It's not supposed to be like this," he said, and it sounded like he was talking to himself more than he was to her. "You're not supposed to get hurt."

"You can't stop that from happening," Felicity snapped. He had to stop treating her like she was made of glass. There was no way of knowing what was going to happen in the future, especially since Felicity didn't plan on stopping her work with him any time soon. "You can't control everything, Oliver."

"Yes I can!" he roared. He was in her face now, but this time, Felicity refused to back down. "You have to stay safe. I need you to stay safe, Felicity!"

"Why?" she demanded, getting right back into his face. " _Why?_ "

One second, Oliver was staring at her and breathing hard. The next, he had snatched Felicity up and covered her mouth with his.

There was half a second when Felicity stood frozen, completely disbelieving that this was happening. Then something clicked in her brain and she realized that Oliver was kissing her. He was actually kissing her.

Felicity wound her arms around Oliver's neck and stretched up onto her tiptoes. Her body molded to his, and Oliver's hands tightened on her waist. His mouth was hot, demanding, but tender, and Felicity was in love with every second of it. When his tongue swiped along the seam of her lips, she gladly opened up to him as he held her tighter to his body.

She wasn't sure who moaned—it could have been her, him, or the both of them at the same time. It was the sound that made Oliver jerk away from her, though.

They stood there, staring at each other. Felicity's hands to fallen to his forearms, and she gripped them tightly as her mind tried to wrap around what had just happened. Had she really just spent the past couple of minutes making out with Oliver? She had felt so wonderful, so warm and at home when his lips had been on hers. Now it was like she was out of her body.

Oliver stared at her for another long moment before he was suddenly gone, leaving Felicity standing alone. She raised her hand and touched her fingers to her swollen lips.

What the hell had just happened?

* * *

 **thirty-six.**

"Talk to me."

Felicity looked up from her nearly untouched carton of Chinese food. "What?"

Thea gave her a knowing look and pointed her fork at her. "What the hell is going on with you?" she demanded. "You've been so weird for the past couple of days."

Shifting in her chair, Felicity twirled her fork around in her lo mien. She had wanted so badly to tell Thea about what had happened, but she didn't want to put her best friend in an awkward situation. Oliver was Thea's older brother, after all.

Of course, Thea was way more observant than that. "Something happened with my brother, didn't it?"

Felicity started and stared at Thea with wide eyes. Thea grinned at her while she watched Felicity splutter. She was just having way too much fun with this, and she was definitely going to let Felicity squirm. Thea couldn't wait to start in on Oliver, too.

"How did you… I mean… what?"

Unable to keep her laughter back, Thea crossed her arms over her chest. "You people act like I don't know anything. In reality, I know _everything_." Thea gave her a knowing look, and Felicity chose to ignore it in favor of the issue at hand.

"He kissed me," Felicity admitted. "He just… laid one on me."

Thea wrinkled her nose. "I'm super happy for you, and everything, but _ew_. I do not want to think about you and my brother off making out somewhere."

Felicity tried to smile at Thea's little joke, but she couldn't make herself muster one. She was still trying to figure out why the hell Oliver had just left her there. She hadn't seen him since that kiss down in the lair. Felicity had even hung out by the computers for hours last night, and he still hadn't shown up.

Honestly, Felicity wasn't sure if she wanted to see him or not. What if he regretted kissing her? What if it had been just some kind of heat of the moment thing, and Oliver actually felt nothing for her? Felicity didn't know if she could face that reality.

Seeing the look on Felicity's face, Thea sat forward and pulled the carton of Chinese food from Felicity's hands. "Alright, what the hell happened? I would have thought that you would have been thrilled by Oliver kissing you."

"I was. I am," Felicity quickly corrected.

Thea rolled her eyes. "What did the dumbass do?" she demanded. Felicity remained silent, and it didn't take long for Thea to piece it all together. "He ran away, didn't he?"

Felicity stared down at her hands and tried to push away the awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. "He did," she confirmed on a whisper.

"Ugh." Thea reached forward and wrapped her best friend in a tight hug. "I love him, but I swear he's the biggest idiot sometimes." She rubbed Felicity's back comfortingly. "He'll come around, Lis. There's no way he's going to pass up the chance to be with you."

Felicity made a disbelieving sound in the back of her throat. Before she tell Thea that there was absolutely no way Oliver would come around, the front door to the Queen mansion opened. Of course, because Felicity's life was just one big joke, it was Oliver who walked in through the open door.

Hearing the noise come from the television, Oliver stopped by the living room to see who was there. He smiled at Thea but came up short when he saw Felicity curled into the corner of the couch. They stared at each other for several long moments before Felicity couldn't take it anymore and finally looked away.

Thea, of course, was sitting on the other end of the couch with her legs pulled up to her chest. She was trying to hide her smile behind her knees, and she was totally eating all of this up.

"Hi, Felicity," Oliver finally said.

Felicity cleared her throat and looked at Oliver long enough just to say, "Hello, Oliver."

"Oh my god," Thea said, not bothering to try and lower her voice at all. "You two are ridiculous."

Oliver's eyes narrowed, and Felicity could feel his eyes on her. Of course he knew that she had told Thea. Honestly, he really shouldn't have expected anything different. Thea was her best friend, after all, and she had been there for Felicity for over five years.

"Thea," Oliver growled.

Rolling her eyes, Thea stood up from the couch and paused the movie she and Felicity had been pretending to watch. She plucked a dumpling from one of the Chinese food cartons on the table and gave her older brother a bored look. "Please, Ollie. Go take your growly attitude somewhere else."

Despite her tumultuous feelings, Felicity couldn't help but crack a smile. Oliver did have a tendency to go all growly on them, but Thea and Felicity had always found more funny than anything else. It was kind of nice to know that Felicity still reacted that way, even after everything that had happened.

Before Oliver could argue further with his younger sister, Tommy came bursting through the still open door of the mansion. He was moving quickly, and he stopped himself by grabbing Oliver around the shoulders. Felicity and Thea took this all in with wide eyes, while Oliver immediately began looking around for a threat.

Noticing this, Tommy attempted to catch his breath and patted Oliver on the back. "Calm down, dude," Tommy finally said. Noticing Thea and Felicity in the living room, he grinned. "I'm glad all of you are here. I have some news for you."

Glad for the distraction, Felicity stood up from the couch and joined the two men in the foyer, with Thea following closely behind. "Well don't make us wait any longer! What's going on?"

Of course, Tommy had to pause for dramatics. Ever impatient, Felicity seriously considered yanking on Tommy's ear (a tactic that had been proven to work well over the years), when he finally spoke.

Tommy clapped his hands together, and his grin grew wider. "Laurel and I are getting married!"

* * *

 **thirty-seven.**

Never one to miss an opportunity for celebration, Tommy had immediately organized an engagement brunch. They met Laurel at an exclusive restaurant where Oliver had called in a favor to get a table on such short notice. Of course, the table was kept well supplied with pitchers of mimosas and glasses of scotch. It was safe to say that they would be celebrating Laurel and Tommy's engagement all day.

They were all surprised when there hadn't been any awkwardness between Tommy and Oliver. Whatever feelings Oliver had once had for Laurel were clearly in the past, and he was able to happily celebrate his best friend's engagement. Felicity had been absolutely giddy with excitement since Tommy had made his announcement. On the other hand, Thea, after congratulating Tommy, had immediately gone into planning mode.

Sitting next to each other at the table, Felicity momentarily forgot her awkwardness with Oliver as she leaned over and tugged on his hand. "Isn't it so exciting?" Felicity gushed. "Tommy is going to get married!"

It seemed that Oliver was setting aside their personal dilemma for the time being, as well. A small smile ticked up his lips. "You're really getting into this, aren't you?"

Felicity's cheeks flushed. "I love weddings," she said by way of explanation. It was easy for her to get overly excited, especially since it was one of her closest friends getting married.

Laurel arrived not long after that, and Felicity and Thea immediately jumped up to hug and congratulate her. While they hadn't been the closest over the years, Felicity had spent more time around Laurel since she had started dating Tommy. They had become friends—especially since Laurel had accepted the close friendship between Felicity, Thea, and Tommy after Oliver had disappeared.

"I've already appointed myself as your planner," Thea announced. "Just in case you guys were wondering."

"You're crazy," Tommy called pleasantly from his spot at the table. When Thea flipped him the middle finger, Tommy raised his glass of scotch in return and smirked.

Laurel smiled and squeezed Thea's shoulders. "I wouldn't have expected anything less." She looked between Felicity and Thea and pressed her lips together to keep from smiling too widely. She knew that her next statement would cause quite the frenzy. "Actually, I had a question for both of you."

"You and Tommy are too perfect for each other," Felicity stated. "You both take way too much enjoyment in building the suspense."

Thankfully, Laurel didn't pause dramatically like Tommy had earlier. "Of course, Sara is going to be my maid of honor. But I was wondering if you two would like to be my bridesmaids?"

Both Oliver and Tommy clapped their hands over their ears when Felicity and Thea started squealing loudly. They engulfed Laurel in a hug from either side. Despite the high-pitched noises still coming from the group, Tommy and Oliver couldn't hide their smiles at the display.

"Of course!" Felicity finally exclaimed.

Thea let out a long-suffering sigh and whipped out her phone. "The media is bound to get a hold of this pretty soon. I mean, no one is going to miss the rock on your finger, Laurel."

It was true. The ring Tommy had proposed with was quite impressive and shiny. While it wasn't something Felicity would have gone for, she could certainly admire it. Tommy had definitely picked out a beautiful ring.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Well, that's probably because you were all freaking out. I wouldn't be surprised if we get out of here and there's already a news report."

Laurel sat down at the table and poured herself, Felicity, and Thea another round of mimosas. "I'm sure they have more important things to talk about," she pointed out.

"Please." Tommy gave his new fiancée a cheeky grin. "What's more important than me?"

The whole table rolled their eyes collectively at that comment. Laughing, Felicity happened to glance up at Oliver the same time he looked at her. Despite the awkwardness that still lingered between them, in that moment, surrounded by all of their friends, Felicity couldn't help but believe that everything was somehow going to be okay.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**


	3. your mouth is poison, your mouth is wine

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All chapter titles come from the song "Poison and Wine" by The Civil Wars.  
**

* * *

 **thirty-eight.**

Thea slapped a binder onto the café table. Felicity barely looked up from the latte her hands were wrapped around, but she did make a noise of acknowledgement. Thea sat down on the other side of the table and flipped the binder opened. She was undeterred by Felicity's less than welcoming attitude.

"So I've already started looking at some venues—"

Felicity cut Thea off with a groan. "Oh my god, Thea, it's 7 o'clock on a Saturday morning. I've barely had enough coffee. Can't you give me ten minutes before you start?"

"No," Thea said pleasantly. "God only knows that Tommy is going to be a pain in our asses when we're planning this wedding—"

" _We're_ planning this wedding? Since when?"

"—so I want to get the main details figured out. I have everything divided up by section in the binder, so we can start there."

"God help the man that you marry."

Thea just smiled at Felicity and went to the counter to by herself a drink and some pastries for the two of them to split. By the time Thea got back to the table, Felicity had woken up enough to actually participate in the conversation. Despite her protests earlier, she actually did enjoy planning things like this. At any rate, it was nice to pretend to be normal for a few hours

An hour and half later, they had picked a venue, a bakery for the cake, a chef for the menu, and the place where they would be ordering the flowers. Tommy was one of the most well-known business men in the city, and Laurel was a socialite in her own right. Once news got out about their engagement got out, all eyes in the city would be on the wedding.

"So." Thea shut the binder with a snap and took another sip of her cappuccino. "When are you and my brother going to figure this thing out?"

Felicity nearly choked on her latte (her second one of the day). She set it aside and tried to catch her breath after Thea's unexpected question. "Um… what?"

"The two of you have been moping all over the place since he kissed you and ran off. You need to corner him and make him talk about it."

"You know that your brother doesn't like talking about things. Like, ever," Felicity said. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. They had gone to the lair, and they had finished a few missions since the night that Oliver had kissed her. She and Oliver had barely spoken, and Digg kept dropping thinly-veiled hints that they needed to discuss whatever it was that was bothering them. Apparently, everyone had picked up on the tension between the two of them.

Thea waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, but you're like the only person that he ever wants to actually talk to. Come on." She jumped out of her chair, gathered up her binder, and grabbed Felicity's arm. Felicity managed to keep a hold on her coffee as Thea towed her out of the chair and to her car. "You're coming to the mansion and you're going to talk to my brother."

Felicity spent the entire ride back to the mansion trying to figure out what she was going to say to Oliver, but nothing came to mind. She still remembered the way his lips felt on hers, and she couldn't help but wonder if she would ever feel it again.

To make sure Felicity didn't run away, Thea dragged her all the way to Oliver's room. The door was closed, and Felicity raised an eyebrow at Thea. The younger Queen sibling just grinned and shrugged her shoulders.

"He was up all night, pacing through the whole mansion. I'm sure he's been distracted by the same thing that's been on your mind. He's probably finally getting some sleep."

Felicity shook her head. "I don't want to be the one to wake him up," she protested. "He barely gets enough sleep as it is."

"Have you figured out that Oliver will do just about anything for you?" Without waiting for Felicity to respond, Thea opened the door and pushed her in.

Oliver certainly had been asleep at one point, but he seemed to be pulling himself out of a nightmare. There was a sheen of sweat covering his skin, and his chest was rising and falling so quickly that Felicity actually thought he might start hyperventilating.

When Thea shut the door behind Felicity with a snap, it pulled Oliver from sleep fully. His head snapped towards her, his eyes wild. Felicity pressed herself against the closed bedroom door, unsure if Oliver would want her to enter any further. They stared at each other, and Felicity was sure that the thumps of her heart were counting the beats of silence that passed.

Finally, Oliver's shoulders relaxed. He slumped back against the headboard and inclined his head, indicating for Felicity to come further into the room. Without giving herself time to think, Felicity crossed the room and climbed onto the bed with Oliver.

In that moment, she wasn't thinking about trying to make Oliver talk about their kiss. Felicity just wanted to do everything she could to make Oliver feel better. She kicked off her shoes and crawled forward on the bed until she was tucked against Oliver's side.

His arm dropped around her shoulders, holding her against him. Felicity pressed her face to his bare chest and closed her eyes. She could feel his heart thudding under her ear, and Felicity brought her hand up to cup his cheek. Oliver turned his face into her palm, closing his eyes and leaning into her touch.

Clearly, Oliver craved the warmth and security that came from sharing a touch with another human being. Felicity doubted that he would ever admit it out loud, but she was sure that he had missed simple touches—at least from the people that he loved—while he had been stranded for five years. Her heart broke for him just a little bit more.

Oliver kissed the inside of her palm, and Felicity felt a calm, secure warmth spread over her. They slid down the bed until they were both laying down, and Oliver's arms were still wrapped around her.

Surrounded by the warmth and security of Oliver's arms, Felicity closed her eyes. There had been a time when she didn't think she would ever get to see Oliver again, let alone hold him like this. She was going to take this moment for what was, and she would save their talk for another time.

Comforted by the steady beating of Oliver's heart, Felicity's eyes drifted close.

* * *

 **thirty-nine.**

The sun was high in the sky by the time Felicity finally woke up. She cracked one eye open and found that she was still using Oliver's chest as a pillow, but he was using his free hand to scroll through her tablet. Narrowing her eyes, Felicity tilted her head up to look at Oliver's face.

"Tell me you did not take my tablet from my bag."

Oliver shrugged his shoulders and didn't look at her, though there was a smile playing around his lips. "I didn't want to wake you, and your bag was within reach. I had some things that I wanted to check up on."

Felicity huffed but decided that she would lecture Oliver about touching her technology later. The bags under his eyes were still dark and prominent on his face, though he didn't seem much more relaxed. "Did you get any more sleep?"

Finally, Oliver glanced at her. His eyes darted back to the screen of the tablet, and he grunted instead of giving her an actual response. Of course he hadn't, not that Felicity blamed him. She wondered how much of his sleep was plagued by nightmares.

"I can't believe you let me sleep for that long," she said. She sat up, and instead of Oliver pulling away completely, his arm just dropped around her waist. Felicity felt her cheeks beginning to flush, and she tried not to look Oliver directly in the eye.

He chuckled. "It seemed like you were tired. Thea did mention that she wanted to start going over some wedding details for Tommy and Laurel with you. I'm surprised she got you to agree to go out that early."

Felicity groaned and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure Tommy has already had ten different offers from wedding planners in the area. I have no idea why Thea is insisting on planning this wedding."

"Because she's Thea and she's crazy." Oliver finally set the tablet aside, and Felicity peered over at it. He had several profiles pulled up on his next target, and she pressed her lips together. The memory of what happened the last time in the lair was still at the forefront of her mind, and she had no idea how to handle it.

"Oliver—"

He squeezed his arm around her waist. "I know, we have to talk," he said. His face was carefully blank as he spoke, and it made Felicity's heart sink. "But can we just… wait?"

Felicity's mouth opened, and then she closed it again. She knew she had to tread carefully. So much had happened during the five years that Oliver had been missing. There was so much she didn't know about him, but at the same time, he was still the Oliver that she had grown up with. She only loved him more now, but she wasn't about to share that little detail with him.

Reaching out, Felicity put a gentle hand on his bare chest. Oliver inhaled sharply, and his eyes darkened. "I'll give you time if that's what you need," she said. "But I can't wait forever, Oliver. We need to talk about… what happened. Eventually."

His face was blank again, and he nodded his head once. They sat in silence for several long moments, her with her hand on his chest, him with his arm around her waist. It was an oddly intimate moment, one that made Felicity's heart beat faster.

Suddenly, Felicity's stomach let out an embarrassingly loud grumble. Felicity gasped and flopped herself back onto Oliver's bed, covering her face with her hands. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed.

Oliver was laughing, though. The seriousness of their short conversation was gone, and the hard lines on his face disappeared as he tilted his head back and laughed. He sounded lighter, almost free. Felicity peeked out from between her fingers, smiling slightly. She was willing to embarrass herself if it got Oliver to laugh like that.

Once his laughter died down, Oliver climbed out of bed. "I guess we should go find you some food, then."

"Don't laugh at me," Felicity grumbled as she followed him. "I haven't eaten anything since I was at the café with Thea at the butt crack of dawn."

That only made Oliver start laughing again. They made their way down the stairs and to the mansion's kitchen, where Raisa was preparing lunch. There was a steaming pot of chili on the stove, and Felicity's stomach growled again. This time, though, Oliver's stomach was making noises right along with hers.

"Damn, Raisa," Oliver said as he took a seat at the kitchen island. "Your cooking is definitely one of the things I missed the most."

Raisa smiled warmly at Oliver. "You know I'll make you whatever you want, Master Oliver. Just tell me."

"Will you make me whatever I want?" a voice called from the kitchen entryway. Oliver and Felicity turned to find Tommy standing there, with his usual charming smile directed at Raisa. "I thought I was your favorite, Raisa!"

That only made Raisa laugh, and she added an extra bowl lined up to the two she already had out. She spooned the heavenly-smelling chili into the bowls and topped it with cheddar cheese. She served the food to the three friends sitting at the island and then disappeared into another part of the house.

"It's about time the two of you woke up," Tommy said as he dug into his food. "I've only been waiting for like an hour."

"Hey, it was Felicity that was sleeping, not me," Oliver protested. "I've been awake for hours."

"Both of you are annoying," Felicity declared. Back when they were younger, there was no use arguing with Oliver and Tommy when they got like this. Even though there had been years of separation and heartache, it seemed like that hadn't changed.

Tommy pointed his spoon at Felicity and gave her an annoyingly superior look. "You know you love us."

Despite herself, Felicity's cheeks flushed bright red, and she stared down into her bowl of chili. She refused to look at either Tommy or Oliver, even though she feared that her feelings were completely obvious anyway. Next to her, Tommy was silently shaking with laughter, and she shot him a glare from the corner of her eye.

Thankfully, Tommy granted her mercy and finally stopped laughing. Felicity would totally get him back for that later. They ate in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, and Felicity couldn't help but marvel over the fact that it was just like old times. She had really and truly missed this time between two of her closest friends.

She would never take it for granted again.

"So," Tommy said. Felicity pulled herself from her somewhat morbid thoughts and turned her full attention towards him. "Thea sent me an email containing all of the details from her meeting with you this morning, Lis."

"Oh my god." Felicity set her spoon down and looked at Tommy with wide eyes. "She actually put everything together in an email for you?"

"Thea actually made a power point presentation, and then emailed it to me."

"She made a _power point_?"

Unconcerned, Tommy shrugged his shoulders. "Thea Queen is nothing if not thorough. There is something to be said for her meticulous party planning."

Oliver let out a chuckle at that. "Do you remember when she used to plan some of the parties we threw in high school?"

Nodding his head vigorously, Tommy said, "And they were some of the best damn parties we ever had."

"She does have a knack for party planning," Felicity agreed. She ran a hand through her mused blonde hair. "And? What did you think of Thea's presentation? She made me wake up super early so we could go over all of those details, you know."

Tommy nudged her in the side. "Quit your whining, you big baby, or I'm not going to tell you that I thought you and Thea are better than the best wedding planner we could have hired in Starling City."

"Really?" Felicity beamed at Tommy. The press release announcing Tommy and Laurel's engagement had gone out three days ago. Already, Laurel and Tommy had been bombarded by offers from some of Starling City's most prominent wedding planners. They had remained completely quiet on the planning of their wedding, refusing to let anyone know that two of their closest friends were planning the big event.

"Yes, really." Tommy chuckled and wrapped his arm around Felicity's shoulders, pulling her into his side. "Come on, you and Thea are a forced to be reckoned with when you plan something together."

"It's true," Felicity said. She picked up her spoon and dug into her chili once again with renewed gusto.

"What's true?"

Thea had entered the kitchen, looking as if she had just woken up from a nap. The three friends sitting at the kitchen counter knew better than to comment on that fact, however. Thea was always in a better mood if she got a mid-afternoon nap in.

"That we plan a kick-ass party," Felicity told her.

Thea headed towards the kitchen and pulled out the bowl of chili from the fridge that Raisa had fixed for her. She popped it into the microwave and sent a superior look the boys' way. "Well duh. It wasn't like that was a big mystery, or anything."

Turning towards Oliver suddenly, Tommy reached out and clapped him on the back. "Not that this is going to come as a surprise to anyone, but Oliver, I was hoping you'd be my best man."

Oliver's response was quick and sincere. He smiled at Tommy—a true, real smile. "Of course, man. I'd be honored."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Tommy said.

Felicity and Thea watched the two friends, both of them smiling broadly at the exchange. Felicity was embarrassed to feel tears burning in her eyes. There was a time when she thought that she would never get to see Oliver again, let alone see him be the best man at Tommy Merlyn's wedding. It was truly a wonderful moment.

Of course, Thea had to say something to break the ice. "Awww. Are we interrupting what could turn into a bro-tastic moment?"

Tommy glared at Thea while Oliver shook his head and chuckled at his younger sister. "Come on, Speedy. Let Tommy have his moment."

"You're lucky I actually like you assholes," Tommy declared.

* * *

 **forty.**

Felicity determinedly stared at her computer screen, despite the metal clanking on the salmon ladder above her that threatened her to distraction at every moment. She clicked away at the file in front of her and narrowed her eyes, doing her best to keep her focus on the next case that Oliver needed information for.

But said vigilante was shirtless and hanging above her head as he made his way up and down the salmon ladder. His muscles rippled with a sheen of sweat. Instead of being turned off by it, Felicity found that she was extremely attracted to Oliver's sweaty, gorgeous body.

(She wouldn't actually admit it to anyone, but Felicity had had more than one fantasy where she had licked Oliver's abs. Despite her extreme embarrassment, she didn't feel all that weird about it.)

As luck would have it, Felicity was successfully distracted when Digg sat down in the chair next to her. He swiveled in his chair until he was facing her, and he had a knowing look on his face that kind of grated on Felicity's nerves. She loved him too much for that, though, so Digg was easily forgiven.

"So." Digg arched his eyebrows at her. His voice was quiet, so Oliver couldn't hear them over the clanking of the metal bar on the hard rungs of the salmon ladder. "How are things going between you and Oliver?"

"There is nothing going on between me and Oliver," Felicity denied immediately.

"Sure." Digg snorted. "Of course there's not."

He continued to stare at her. His gaze was so intense and direct that Felicity couldn't help but shift under his steady gaze. She was pretty sure that Digg wasn't even blinking, and it had to have been more than sixty seconds.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "Oh my god!" Felicity exclaimed as she threw her hands in the air. "Do you practice staring without blinking, or something?"

Still not saying anything, Digg continued to stare. It was so incredibly unnerving, and it made Felicity think about things she didn't really want to acknowledge. She didn't want to think about her weird, stagnant relationship with Oliver. She didn't want to think about how it would affect what was going on between them. She didn't want to think about how things were going to change.

It was too much, sometimes. It was easier to focus on the fact Oliver was finally back with them. Even though it had been almost six months since he had returned, it was still hard to believe.

Felicity decided that it was easier to stare at the computer screen than it was to look into Digg's unforgiving eyes. "I don't know," she whispered. "Okay? I don't know. And I don't want to pressure him into anything he doesn't want, so…"

Instead of saying anything remotely reassuring, Digg started to chuckle. He shook his head as he sat there with Felicity, and he continued to chuckle.

Felicity gaped at him. "Are you _laughing_ at me?" she demanded.

He continued to laugh, and Felicity groaned and dropped her forehead against her desk. There was no way she could win in this situation.

Of course, Oliver chose that moment to drop down from the salmon ladder. He stretched his arms over his head before he bent at the waist and touched his toes. Felicity couldn't tear her eyes away from the way his muscles flexed in his back, or the tattoo he had on his shoulder. She heard Digg start to laugh next to her once again, and she rolled her eyes.

"What's so funny?" Oliver asked.

"Nothing," Felicity said immediately. Of course, that made her sound guilty, but Felicity couldn't help her knee-jerk reaction.

Oliver's eyebrows rose up towards his forehead, but he said nothing. Instead, he grabbed one of the dumbbells and casually started doing arm curls. Once again, Felicity was trying her very best not to get distracted by the way his muscles tightened and relaxed.

God, she needed some kind of release.

Needing a different kind of distraction, Felicity picked up her phone. There were several texts from Thea waiting, and Felicity happily scrolled through them. There were all sorts of messages about the flower arrangements and the caterers she had met with for Tommy and Laurel's wedding. Damn, Thea was really getting into this whole wedding planning thing.

The last message pertained to what was happening that weekend. "Thea booked Verdant for the engagement party on Saturday," Felicity announced. "Of course, both of you are going to be there."

"Since we're both part of the wedding party, I doubt that we have much choice," Oliver said as he switched the dumbbell to his other hand. He was going to be Tommy's best man, naturally. They had all been surprised when Tommy asked Digg to be a groomsman as well, but they hadn't questioned it. The third groomsman was going to be one of Tommy's cousins.

Sighing, Felicity leaned back in her computer chair and tilted her neck from side to side. "You could at least sound a little more excited about it. Your best friend is about to get married, you know."

"I am excited," Oliver said. He set the dumbbell down and looked at Felicity with concerned eyes. She was rubbing at the back of her neck as she shifted in her chair, trying to find a more comfortable position. "Are you alright?"

"What?" Felicity dropped her hand from her neck. "I'm fine." The truth was, her body got incredibly sore after sitting in the computer chair for all hours of the night.

Oliver tilted his head as he studied her. Then he stepped behind her chair and placed his large hands on her shoulders. He strong fingers started kneading the tense muscles, gently massaging into the flesh. When his thumbs found the knots in her neck, Felicity closed her eyes and tilted her head back.

Digg snorted next to her. Felicity couldn't bring herself to care.

* * *

 **forty-one.**

"I need a glass of champagne, right now."

Felicity dropped into her chair and groaned as she covered her face with her hands. She loved Thea Queen—she was her best friend, after all. She was getting way too into this whole wedding planner thing, though. Thea was walking around with an actual headset and a clipboard as she ordered them all around.

"She's crazy," Oliver said. He handed Felicity a flute full of bubbly champagne, and then he poured some scotch on the rocks for himself. "Absolutely crazy."

" _I can hear you!_ "

Thea's shout came from the other side of the club, and Oliver looked around in alarm. "Do you think she has cameras and microphones in here?"

"I think she's just that good," Felicity said with a laugh. Still, it didn't stop her from taking a long pull from her glass of champagne. Laurel had been surprisingly calm during the entirety of the wedding planning thus far—it was Thea who was being a bit of a bridezilla.

"Someone get her a drink," Oliver mumbled. "Maybe then she'll calm down."

Felicity shook her head and propped her feet up on the desk. The skirt of her purple sundress rode up a little bit, and she missed the way Oliver's eyes flashed. "No way," Felicity said. She was completely oblivious to the way Oliver was staring at her. "Thea is an obnoxious drunk person."

Thea came stomping into the office and planted her hands on her hips as she glared at her best friend and older brother. "Have you two stopped your bitching yet?" she demanded. "We have to finish getting ready for this party, you know."

Felicity drained her glass of champagne and poured herself another one. Grabbing another flute, she poured a second glass and shoved it into Thea's hands. "Your army of helpers have got this one under control, Thea. Why don't you take a break for a second and sit with us? The guests of honor aren't due to arrive for another hour, anyway."

Thea looked back towards the main room of Verdant, where her team (and honestly, Felicity had no idea where Thea managed to get thirty extra people to help set up this party) was efficiently and professionally continuing to pull the party together. Then she looked at Oliver and Felicity before she wedged her body into the chair that Felicity was also sitting in.

"You still have to get changed, you know," Thea noted. "Both of you."

Oliver groaned and closed his eyes. "We still have an hour," he reminded his sister. "Relax."

Felicity smiled behind her glass of champagne. Thea, of course, had picked out their outfits for the party and had them set up in the office's en suite bathroom. Felicity hadn't even seen her dress yet, but she was sure that it was short and sparkly and way too much for the party. They were all just lucky that Thea hadn't designated the engagement party as a black tie event.

"Can we talk about something other than the party for five seconds?" Felicity asked. When Thea opened her mouth, Felicity poked her in the side. "And that doesn't mean we should talk about the wedding, either."

A surprisingly serious look overcame Thea's face, and she studied Oliver for a long moment. Oliver looked back at her, his brow furrowed. Thea's gaze swiveled towards Felicity, and there was something knowing in her eyes.

"Thea," Oliver finally said. "Are you okay?"

Thea blinked, and she was back to her normal, fun-loving self. "Of course I'm okay," she said. She seemed to shake off whatever she had been thinking about earlier, but Felicity had an uneasy feeling. Thea knew something—and Felicity had a feeling that it had to do with Oliver's vigilante secret.

That wasn't something she could deal with right now, however. They had a party to finish getting ready for, after all. Still, Felicity resolved to discuss it with Oliver tomorrow. It was probably time that they let Thea in on their secret—especially since Tommy knew.

Thea jumped up out of the chair she was sharing with Felicity and clapped her hands together. "Come on!" she exclaimed. "Let's go see your dress!"

Grabbing onto Felicity's hands, Thea pulled her out of the chair with astonishing strength. Felicity was barely able to hold onto her champagne flute as Thea towed her towards the bathroom. She could hear Oliver chuckling behind them, and the sound made Felicity smile.

"You can stop with the goo-goo eyes at my brother," Thea ordered without looking back at Felicity. "We have more important things to worry about."

Felicity huffed audibly and was about to respond when Thea revealed her dress for the party with a flourish. Completely distracted from Thea's comments about Oliver, Felicity stared at the dress with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"What do you think?" Thea asked.

"It's… it's two pieces," was all Felicity could manage.

"Yeah." Thea smirked at Felicity and held the dress out to her. "I know."

"I can't wear this!"

"Oh my god, Lis, yes you can." Thea shoved the dress into Felicity's arms. "You have a kick-ass body and you're going to look amazing in this dress. Now go get changed."

Felicity wondered how her life had become a series of Thea picking out ridiculous dresses for her. Somehow, her best friend always managed to talk her into wearing the dresses, which was a feat in and of itself.

It really was a gorgeous dress, though, even if it was two pieces. It was made entirely of black lace, with a skirt that flowed around her knees. Once Felicity put it on, she saw that the top revealed a couple inches of her torso. The skirt came up high enough that it covered her belly button, and Felicity was surprised to realize she didn't feel that exposed in it.

"Okay." Felicity stepped out so Thea could see her. "I have no idea how you managed to do it again, but I love this dress."

Thea clapped her hands together in excitement and jumped up and down. "Oh my god, Lis, you look amazing!" She directed Felicity over to a chair and sat her down. With a few clever twists and about fifteen bobby pins, Thea tucked Felicity's blonde locks up into a wispy up-do.

"What are you wearing?" Felicity asked. "You still have to get ready, you know."

Thea nodded towards another garment bag that was hanging across the room. "It's a purple strapless dress, if you must know." Her cheeks flushed slightly. "I heard the bartender that I'm crushing on likes purple."

Felicity giggled as she touched up her makeup. "Tonight could be your night, you know."

A snort came from Thea before she disappeared behind the divider in the bathroom to change. "Yeah, but only if I can keep Oliver and Tommy distracted long enough not to pay attention to me." She stuck her head out from behind the divider and smiled deviously. "Although in that dress, you might just be able to take care of Oliver for me."

"Thea!" Felicity exclaimed. Her cheeks flared bright red and she sighed. A small part of her really did want to see what Oliver's reaction to her wearing the dress was going to be. Felicity couldn't help the excited swoop in her stomach at the thought of seeing him in his suit.

"Oh, come on." She came back into the room and crossed to the mirror to touch up her makeup. "The two of you just need to get over this and have a good, old-fashioned make out session already. I think that will solve a lot of your problems."

"What are we, fifteen?" Felicity demanded. "I doubt making out with Oliver will solve any of my problems." She was sure that if her cheeks went any redder, they would burst into flames.

"It would probably get rid of the tension," Thea argued.

"Or just create more."

"But it would probably be the _good_ kind of tension." Thea waggled her eyebrows and laughed when Felicity gasped.

Stepping forward, Thea wrapped her arms around Felicity and hugged her tightly. "The two of you have always been ridiculously stubborn. Which is why you're perfect for each other, you know."

Felicity found herself wanting to believe Thea.

* * *

 **forty-two.**

Oliver watched Tommy nervously pace back and forth in amusement. He was already in his suit, and he was tugging at his hair as he walked from one end of the bar to the other.

"Dude, you need to relax," Oliver advised.

Tommy shot Oliver a look with slightly crazed eyes. "Are you serious? Laurel is now five minutes late, and your sister is probably going to find some way to blame it on me."

"Wait. You're freaking out because of _Thea_?"

"Dude, your little sister terrifies me!"

Oliver wasn't about to admit that he was a little bit scared of Thea, as well. He might have been the Starling City vigilante, but his younger sister instilled a fear in him like no other.

Thankfully, at that moment Laurel came bustling into Verdant. She grinned when she saw her fiancé, and she pressed a quick to kiss to Tommy's lips. She couldn't even take the time to appreciate how great the club looked, since Thea had appeared and was already dragging Laurel to the dressing room.

"You can kiss Tommy later!" Thea was saying. "We only have thirty minutes and forty-five seconds to get you ready!"

Sighing, Tommy shook his head. "Do you see what I mean? Your sister actually has everything timed out to the second. _Terrifying_."

Oliver opened his mouth to retort, but it was at that moment that Felicity appeared. He was unable to stop his immediate reaction: his eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open, and he froze completely.

Relieved to have something to distract him, Tommy grinned in amusement at Oliver's reaction. The two of them were so painfully obvious to everyone else, but completely oblivious to each other. It was actually pretty entertaining to watch.

Felicity had been fiddling with her phone as she walked into the main room of the club, but as she reached the bar she finally looked up. She caught Oliver's eye and smiled at him before returning her gaze to her phone. Belatedly, she realized that Oliver was staring at her with wide eyes.

"What's wrong?" Felicity set her phone aside and touched her cheek. "Do I have something on my face?"

"What?" Oliver blinked and shook his head. "No. No, of course you don't. It's just…" His eyes moved up and down her body, and Felicity swore she could feel it like an actual touch on her skin. His gaze lingered on the bare strip of skin revealed by the two-piece dress. "You look amazing."

Felicity's cheeks flared pink. "Thank you." Unable to hold Oliver's steady gaze, she look at her phone again and began to fiddle with it. Behind them, Tommy let out a loud snort.

She whipped around and glared at him. "You. Shut up, right now."

"You should be nice to me," Tommy retorted. "It's my day, after all."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "It might be the night of your engagement party, but that doesn't mean that I won't whoop your ass. It wouldn't be the first time I've done it."

Felicity's comment was enough to pull Oliver out of his stupor. His eyebrows shot up, and he looked between Tommy and Felicity. Tommy, seeing the look, made a face and shook his head.

"Dude, you know there's no way Felicity has ever beat up on me. Like she could even take me!"

That caused Oliver to chuckle. "If you and Felicity got into a fight, I'd definitely put my money on Felicity."

Felicity flashed Tommy a triumphant grin, while he gaped at Oliver. "Oliver! I feel so betrayed right now!" he exclaimed.

Of course, that was when Thea came tearing out of the office/makeshift dressing room. "Alright, I've left enough time within my planning for all of us to have a drink together before guests begin to arrive. Laurel will be fully ready in a few minutes, so I'm going to pop that bottle of champagne."

Once the champagne was poured, Tommy lifted his flute and studied it. "Hey Thea, do you think if we get you really drunk, you'll stop being such a pain in the ass?"

In response, Thea flipped him her middle finger. Oliver chuckled as he moved to stand next to Felicity, and she smiled at him over the rim of her champagne flute. The corners of his mouth tilted up in return in a lopsided half-smile that made Felicity's heart flutter.

"If anyone is being a pain in the ass, Tommy Merlyn, it's you. Thea went through all this trouble to plan our party, after all. You should really be nice to her."

Tommy looked up at the sound of Laurel's voice and had a reaction very similar to the one that Oliver had when he saw Felicity. Of course, it was only natural that Tommy would be enthralled by his fiancée—she looked gorgeous in a simple, white, strapless dress.

Thea grinned and handed Laurel another flute full of champagne. "Let's make a toast," she offered. "Tommy, you are a giant idiot, but you somehow managed to get Laurel to marry you. Let's hope she doesn't leave you standing at the altar."

Laughter exploded from Laurel, Felicity, and Oliver. Tommy's mouth dropped open and he glared at Thea. "Thea! That's not funny at all!"

"Oh relax, baby." Laurel reached up and kissed Tommy's cheek. "I'd never leave you at the altar. You're stuck with me."

Felicity was still trying to smother her laughter behind her glass of champagne, but she obviously wasn't being very successful. Glancing down at her with a small smile on his face, Oliver nudged her side playfully. She elbowed him in return and then looked away, blushing fiercely when she caught Tommy giving her a knowing look.

She was positive that tonight was going to be a long one.

* * *

 **forty-three.**

The party was in full swing, and of course it was a huge success—not that Felicity had expected anything less. Given that Tommy and Laurel were something of a society couple, there were a lot more people at the party than they actually knew. That didn't matter, though, because Tommy and Laurel were happy just to be celebrating their engagement.

Of course, Thea had allowed one professional photographer into the party. Felicity was sure that she was going to be combing through the pictures later, picking the ones to send to the society section of the newspaper. Thus far, she had managed to avoid both the photographer and Thea, who had yet to relax.

Felicity found that Oliver was hiding also, by the corner of the bar. Oliver was still something of a novelty to Starling City in general, so he had done the requisite rounds and then tucked himself out of the way. He looked cool, calm, and casual leaning against the bar, and Felicity tried not to think about how attractive he looked like that.

Still, she found herself moving towards the bar. She ordered another drink—something pink with rum in it—and went to join Oliver at his little corner. Felicity propped her hip against the corner and smiled at him, and she hoped that he wouldn't be able to tell that her heart was beating a million miles a minute.

"Want some company?" Felicity offered.

"From you?" Oliver smiled, warm and full. "Absolutely."

Felicity slid onto the seat next to where Oliver was standing and took a sip of her pink drink. Oliver, who was drinking scotch, peered into the cup with an amused look on his face. "What the hell are you drinking?"

A smile formed on her face, but there was a slight pang in her heart. Obviously, Oliver had missed her twenty-first birthday. She remembered the nights when she would pick him up from parties, and he would go on and on about her twenty-first and how much fun they would have. He told her that he would teach her how to go out and drink, and it always made Felicity laugh.

(Then again, she had Thea Queen and Tommy Merlyn around for her twenty-first. It was like the two of them had thought that they had to make up for Oliver's absence for her birthday by being extra ridiculous. When Felicity had woken up, she had the worst hangover of her entire life, and Thea was still drunk and dancing with the dancers she had hired. Tommy was still at the makeshift bar they had created for the party, pouring shots and claiming that they needed "the hair of the dog to recover.")

"It's a pink drink," Felicity explained.

"A pink drink." Oliver repeated. He swiped the drink from Felicity's hand, like he used to do with soda when they were younger and watching a movie. He took a sip of the drink and then made a face so comical that Felicity burst out in laughter.

He set the drink back on the bar and pushed it towards Felicity. "Okay, how does that even _taste_ pink?"

"I like it!" Felicity exclaimed defensively. She snatched the drink up off the bar and licked the sugar off of the rim. "It's better than your gross scotch, anyway."

Oliver made another face at her, which only caused Felicity to start giggling again. Maybe the pink drink and all of the champagne had gone to her head—not that she cared much. She drained the drink and ordered another one, watching over the rim of her glass as Oliver did the same.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Felicity asked.

He studied her for a long moment, his eyes oddly intense. Then he smiled again, and the look was gone. "Do you have a secret hideout at Verdant, or something? You know, other than the one we have in the basement."

"Actually, yes." She grabbed her drink and gestured for Oliver to follow suit before she grabbed his hand and began to tow him along. "Just come with me."

Bemused, Oliver followed her as they cut through the party and headed up a hidden set of stairs. They went up two levels before Felicity reached for a key hanging beside a door. She unlocked the door and pushed it open, revealing the roof of Verdant.

The sun was setting, casting a golden glow over everything. Off in the distance, Oliver could see the rest of Starling City. Felicity stepped back, holding her arms out as she showed Oliver the rooftop. He watched her with hooded eyes. The city and setting sun made a beautiful backdrop for Felicity Smoak.

"I found this the night Thea opened Verdant. I use it as my escape whenever Thea drags me out." She walked over the edge and leaned against the railing. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply as the evening breeze ruffled her hair.

When she opened them again, Oliver was standing next to her. She jumped a little, her heart stuttering in her chest. Pressing a hand over her heart, she gave him the side-eye that she had perfected when she was eight years old. "Jeez, Oliver! I know you move like a ninja, but a little warning would still be nice."

Despite her joking tone, Oliver's face was serious. He placed his hand next to hers on the railing—not touching, but close enough that she could practically feel him. His steady gaze was almost unnerving, but Felicity couldn't make herself look away… and she didn't really want to, if she was being honest with herself.

"Thank you for showing me your place." Oliver's voice was a deep rumble in his chest, and Felicity wanted to melt into it.

"Oliver." She inched her hand over on the railing, until just their pinkie fingers were touching. He lifted his slightly, so that his was overlapping with hers. "There's no one else I'd rather be up here with."

One second, they were staring at each other, with only their fingers touching. The next, Oliver was pressed against Felicity, with the railing digging into her back as he cupped her face in one hand and kissed her.

Some distant part of Felicity's mind wondered if she should be surprised that they ended up back in this position, but she honestly wasn't. And then she told that part of her mind to shut up, because Oliver's calloused fingers were trailing over the bare strip of skin revealed by the crop top of her dress, and Felicity forgot how to think entirely.

She ran one hand through the short hairs on the back of his head, feeling them prickle against her palm. Her other hand ran down his chest slowly, taking its time to memorize the hard planes of muscle.

Oliver groaned against her lips, and Felicity gasped in surprise. She didn't think that she would have ever been to illicit a reaction like that from him, but she had—and it was proven to her even further when Oliver began kissing her even harder, his lips moving against hers with a passion that was almost desperate.

Felicity's hand moved from his hair to the back of his suit jacket, which she clutched tightly as Oliver hoisted her up against his body, holding her against the railing. Her legs came up on either side of his waist, thighs pressing into his sides. Felicity nipped at his bottom lip, and Oliver retaliated by trailing his lips down to her neck.

His teeth scraped against the pulse jumping erratically in her neck, and Felicity moaned. She felt him smiling against her skin, and he did it again before he bit down lightly on the sensitive skin. Felicity's legs tightened around him and she curled her fingers into his shirt—what the hell was he _doing_ to her?

She felt like she was about to come apart at the seams, but at the same time, having Oliver Queen's lips on hers felt like coming home. Holding him to her as his hands ran all of her body was something that Felicity wanted to go on forever.

His lips were on hers again, but it was a gentle kiss this time. Both of his hands came up to cup her face, his thumbs stroking her cheeks. Felicity curled her fingers into his shirt again, holding on to him as he placed another kiss, and then one more, against her lips.

Felicity kept her eyes closed when he finally pulled back. She wasn't sure if she could handle looking into his eyes at that moment. She just wanted to bask in the feel of Oliver still holding her to him, with his forehead pressed against hers.

As the sun fully set over the city, they breathed each other in.

* * *

 **forty-four.**

"Felicity Smoak. Is that a _hickey_ on your neck?"

Blushing terrifically, Felicity tried to stop herself from slapping a hand over the red mark on her neck. Instead, she narrowed her eyes at Tommy and flipped her hair with one hand, effectively covering the mark. "Don't you have someone else to go and bother? Your fiancée, perhaps?"

Tommy shrugged and moved to push Felicity's hair back from her neck again. "Laurel is still sleeping. I'm going to be a good fiancé and let her sleep in. And you still didn't answer my question, by the way."

Felicity slapped Tommy's hand away and sent him a dark glare before she turned back to her coffee. After the party last night, they had all ended up back at the Queen mansion. It was practically tradition for the group, after so many years of attending events together.

Tommy and Laurel had gone off to one of the guest suits to continue celebrating their engagement. Oliver had disappeared into the gym, and Felicity hadn't wanted to guess how many hours he had spent working out. Thea had been texting the cute bartender, and she was sure that she had snuck out to meet with him at two o'clock in the morning. Felicity, on the other hand, had parked her butt in Thea's California king bed and had watched movies until she had fallen asleep.

When she had woken up, Felicity had seen that Thea still hadn't returned. She checked her phone and found a text message from Thea; she indeed gone out to meet with the hot bartender, whose name was Roy Harper. Apparently, they had hit it off, and Thea had told Felicity not to worry.

With that matter settled, Felicity had gone into the kitchen in search of coffee. Of course, Raisa had already had some brewing for them (the woman truly was a saint for putting up with all of them, while managing to keep them well fed and well caffeinated). Felicity waited patiently for the first person to wake up and join her while Raisa made breakfast.

Naturally, it had to be Tommy, and of course he immediately noticed the hickey on her neck. Felicity hadn't even realized she had had the mark until she been brushing her teeth that morning. She had stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long moment before she sighed and resigned herself to the interrogation she was sure to receive.

Tommy didn't disappoint. "I bet I can guess where you got that hickey from," he said in an annoying sing-song voice. "By the way, you're blushing."

Felicity stared into her coffee mug. "Please don't be mean to me," she mumbled.

She was already beyond confused. The movies she had watched had distracted her somewhat, and she had fallen asleep halfway through the first one. But her dreams were full of Oliver's lips and his hands on her, and she had woken up and lay in bed for a long time, thinking about their little make out session on the roof of Verdant.

"Awww, Lis!" Tommy reached over and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly against his side. Felicity snuggled into her friend's embraced and closed her eyes. With all of the crazy things happening in her life, it was nice to know that Tommy Merlyn would always remain the same.

"Come on, Felicity," Tommy murmured. "Whatever happened, it can't be that bad."

"Ugh, but it _is_ ," Felicity lamented. "You know how Oliver is! And now that you know that… you know, what he does at nights, you can understand why Oliver is reluctant to start any kind of relationship."

"Felicity," Tommy began, but she was already on a roll, and she cut him off.

"Not that we even have a relationship! Of the romantic sort, anyway. Two kisses does not a stable, healthy relationship make. And I can't put that on Oliver, anyway! He's busy trying to save the city, and he doesn't need to worry about me."

"Felicity!" Tommy grabbed Felicity's shoulders and gave her a little shake. "Come on. And what do you mean by two kisses? What have you not been telling me?"

"Please. Like you want to hear about the times that Oliver and I made out."

"Oh, now we've gone from kissing to making out? Spill."

Despite the sigh of annoyance that escaped her lips, Felicity smiled. Tommy could gossip with the best of them—of course, how would he have survived all those years with Felicity and Thea otherwise? She pushed on his chest until he let her go, and then she reached for her coffee and took a fortifying sip.

"Okay, well, the first time he kissed me was after I was attacked on a mission and he was yelling at me," Felicity began.

Tommy held his hand up, his face suddenly stern and concerned. "Hang on a second, Smoak. You were attacked on one of Oliver's missions?"

"It really wasn't a big deal. We had the situation well at hand," Felicity said with a dismissive wave of her hand. She knew what she had signed up for when she had started helping Oliver. She wasn't going to pretend to be a delicate damsel in distress. "Anyway, he was yelling at me for getting captured and saying that I couldn't put myself in danger or whatever. I kind of forget exactly what he said, since all I can remember was the way that he kissed me."

"Gross."

"Tommy! You _asked_."

Tommy sighed dramatically. "Yes, I know. Continue."

Felicity rolled her eyes at him, but she let it go and continued with her story. "And then at your party last night, we made out on the roof."

"On the roof?" Tommy repeated, his eyes wide. "Damn, Smoak. I hadn't even managed to take a girl up there. That's some advanced maneuvering."

Felicity ignored that particular comment. "I'm so confused," she whispered. "I don't… I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Tommy." She hated the way her heart tightened in her chest—she both dreaded seeing Oliver and wanted to be around him. It was an odd juxtaposition of feelings, and Felicity was painfully aware of that fact.

"Hey." Tommy nudged her chin up with his fingers until she was looking at him. "Oliver is going to come around. You know how he is with change. It just takes him a little bit to adjust."

"Do you really believe that?" Felicity asked.

"Yes." Tommy kissed her cheek and then pushed her coffee cup towards her again. "Now drink up. You need to be properly caffeinated for when Oliver decides to grace us with his presence."

Felicity grinned at Tommy and patted his cheek affectionately before she reached for her mug. They only had about three minutes of peace and quiet before Thea Queen interrupted them.

"I hate that the two of you are so fucking chipper right now," Thea mumbled as she slid onto the stool next to Tommy. "You're both awful people."

Felicity tried to hide her amusement at Thea's suffering, but Tommy laughed outright. "It's your own damn fault that you're hungover," he told her.

Thea made a face at him. "Roy challenged me."

"Roy is that bartender you had a crush on, right?" Felicity asked.

To the surprise of both Felicity and Tommy, a light blush suffused across Thea's cheeks. "Yes."

"And you challenged him to some drinking contest? Very nice, Thea."

Thea scowled. "I don't even remember who started it, but we ended up going shot for shot." Her scowl turned smug. "I won, by the way."

"Of course you did!" Tommy clapped Thea on the back. "I couldn't be more proud. I've taught you well."

"What have you taught Thea?"

All three occupants at the kitchen counter looked up to see that the newcomer was Oliver. He was still in his pajamas—a pair of flannel pants and a t-shirt. He actually looked relaxed, his eyes free of bags, and his brow missing its usual furrow. An amused smile played on his lips, and Felicity felt her cheeks flush bright red.

Thea was already re-telling her story to Oliver, but of course Tommy was watching Felicity and delighting in her embarrassment. She narrowed her eyes at him, but he just smirked at her. Oliver came over and slid onto the empty stool on the other side of Felicity. His knee brushed against hers, and a shiver coursed through Felicity's entire body.

She chanced a glance at him, and saw that he was watching her with eyes so intense that Felicity almost kissed him again right then and there. She saw a spark in his eyes, and Felicity was positive he could read her mind. A smile began to form on his lips, and Felicity hastily looked away. She couldn't explain it if she threw herself at Oliver and began kissing him.

(She was willing to bet that it wouldn't have fazed Tommy or Thea one iota, however.)

Of course, Raisa made them the most wonderful breakfast, consisting of a vegetable quiche, heaping piles of bacon and sausage, a tropical fruit salad, and buttery slices of seven-grain toast. Felicity accepted her plate of food and a fresh cup of coffee from Raisa with a bright smile, but she almost choked on her thanks when she felt Oliver's knee press against hers under the kitchen island again.. and it stayed there.

Felicity tried to watch him out of the corner of her eye, but she wasn't very successful. She had never been very good at being sneaky (all nightly activities with the Starling City vigilante aside). There was no way she could risk watching Oliver without at least Thea noticing, let alone Tommy. Then she would never hear the end of it.

Oliver, for his part, was listening to Thea chatter on and on about Roy. He would ask questions every now and then, just as an over-protective big brother should. Despite the obvious tension between Oliver and Felicity, the interactions between Oliver and Thea made Felicity smile. There had been a time when they had thought Thea was never going to get another stern, big brother lecture from Oliver. It was nice to know that they had been wrong.

From that point on, Oliver's leg remained pressed against Felicity's. She tried her hardest not think about it, and instead concentrated on eating the delicious food in front of her.

In the middle of their meal, Laurel finally surfaced. She looked refreshed and ready to face the day, which was more than any of the other inhabitants of the kitchen could say. She stood next to Tommy's stool and wrapped her arms around him, pressing a kiss to his cheek in greeting.

"You guys should see the article I found online about the party last night," she said.

That brightened Thea's mood considerably. "There's an article already? Excellent!"

Laurel smiled indulgently at the younger woman. "The society pages just came out with it and posted it online. I'm sure it will make it to print this week."

She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her sweatshirt and opened it to the article she had discovered that morning. There plenty pictures of the engagement party from the night before. There were several featuring just Tommy and Laurel, of course. Several more just had general shots of the party and decorations, which were top notch (of course, Thea had settled for nothing less than the absolute best).

There was even a group shot of the five of them. It was great picture—someone had obviously snapped it while they were laughing, instead of it being painfully posed. Tommy, Laurel, Thea, Oliver, and Felicity were all standing with their arms around one another, in that order. It had probably been Tommy that had a told a joke that made all of them laugh, and all five of them looked genuinely happy in that photo.

It was the one after that picture that caught Felicity's attention the most, however.

She knew that there was a photographer taking pictures during the party, of course. She just hadn't realized that the photographer had taken such intimate pictures of the party-goers. This particular picture told quite the story, even to someone who didn't know them at all.

It was of Felicity and Oliver at the bar. She was sitting on the stool, holding her pink drink and smiling up at Oliver in a practically sultry way. Felicity would never have used the word sultry to describe herself, but there wasn't another word she could come up with. Oliver was hovering over her in a protective, almost predatory way, and it was something that Felicity found to be completely sexy.

Clearing her throat, Felicity shoved the phone back at Laurel and started shoveling the rest of her breakfast into her mouth. She chugged the remains of her coffee and then jumped up, heading towards the door as she spoke.

"I think I'm going to take a shower," she announced before anyone could say anything to her. She made sure that her hair and the collar of her sweatshirt covered her hickey, just to avoid any other questions. "I'll see you guys later."

Felicity swore that she could hear laughter following her as she ran up the stairs.

* * *

 **forty-five.**

After spending a ridiculous amount of time in the shower, Felicity finally felt that her nerves and embarrassment had calmed down enough to face her friends once again. She couldn't believe that after all this time, Oliver put her so on edge. She probably should have expected it, though. She had been in love with Oliver all her life before his disappearance, and it seemed as if those feelings hadn't changed.

After changing into a pair of jeans and a tank top with a pink cardigan over it, Felicity wandered down the hallway. She had spent years of her life at the Queen mansion, but every now and then, she found herself _still_ getting lost among the mazes of rooms and hallways. Given her thoughts were so jumbled, Felicity honestly wasn't surprised that she had taken a wrong turn and had somehow ended up by Moira Queen's second floor office.

With a sigh Felicity pivoted on her foot and went to head back towards the main hallway. She figured she might as well just use the main stairs at this point, instead of one of the many hidden sets of stairs in the mansion that would have led her right to the kitchen. Before she could move too far, however, a loud crash came from Moira's office, making Felicity jump.

It was the name that was spoken next that made her freeze in place outside the office, however.

"Malcolm, really." Moira Queen's voice sounded heavy and tired. "Must you react so violently?"

"Someone is taking out all of the old associates that our families had… less than desirable dealings with," Malcolm retorted. His voice was curt and hard, and there was a an iciness to it that had Felicity's heart thumping hard in her chest. "Doesn't that send up a red flag to you?"

"The vigilante already cornered me, as you may recall," Moira pointed out. "And he didn't get anything from me. Didn't the vigilante actually end up saving you, Malcolm?"

Silence stretched between the pair in the office for a long moment. Unable to help herself, Felicity crept towards the doors. The doors were cracked open just enough that Felicity was able to hear the whole conversation; if she placed herself just so, she would be able peer through the gap between the doors and see what was going on.

Moira was sitting at her desk with a glass of scotch in one hand, and she looked completely and utterly finished with Malcolm Merlyn. Malcolm, on the other hand, was standing over Moira's desk in a way that could only be called dangerous. His whole body was taut, as if one wrong word from Moira could cause him to snap.

"Someone knows what was going on before Robert and Oliver disappeared, Moira," Malcolm pointed out. Felicity gaped at that incredibly cryptic statement. There weren't a whole lot of specifics, but at the same time, it revealed were so much. Just how involved, exactly, were Malcolm and Moira—and even Robert—with what was happening with the list?

"Doesn't that concern you?" Malcolm continued.

Moira sighed heavily. Felicity managed to get a good look at Moira's face as she spun slowly in her chair to fully face Malcolm, and what she saw surprised her.

Felicity had known Moira Queen for years. Her father had always been close with the Queens, and Felicity had been close friends with both of her children for as long as she could remember. Even so, Felicity had never been that close with Moira. Truthfully, the Queen matriarch had always scared Felicity a little bit. There was always something just a little bit ruthless about Moira, something cold and calculating that had always made Felicity be cautious around her.

The woman sitting at the desk now didn't look any of those things. Instead, she just looked exhausted. It was as if she was in the middle of fighting a war that she already knew she was going to lose, and instead of doing anything to stop it, she had just accepted it. Moira Queen looked as if she was broken and trying so very hard to hide it.

Felicity's mind whirled with the implications of what she had just heard and seen. She forced herself to focus on what Moira was going to say next, just in case it was anything important. Instead, Moira just waved her hand dismissively at Malcolm.

"Malcolm, just leave," Moira ordered.

Before Malcolm could move or react, Felicity darted away from the office doors. She certainly didn't want to be caught eavesdropping, should Malcolm choose to leave. Instead, spun on her heel and quietly but quickly moved back the way she came.

How was she going to tell Oliver?

* * *

 **forty-six.**

For once, Oliver was in a relatively good mood when he came back from one of his missions. The bad guy in question had actually been full of remorse, and had been more than willing to turn over a couple hundred thousand dollars to a charity to help with education in the Glades without much convincing. In fact, said bad guy was becoming quite the champion for the residents of the Glades, and had promised to inform Oliver of any suspicious activity he noticed.

"That was almost too easy," Oliver announced as he put his bow and arrows back. He shrugged off the leather green jacket and put it back on the mannequin as he turned towards Felicity, Digg, and Tommy. He was surprised to see that Felicity looked almost murderous as she stabbed at her keyboard—normally, she didn't handle her tech with such harsh hands. Tommy looked smug, while Digg just wore a look of amusement.

Oliver set his bow aside as he an arched an eyebrow at his friends. "Am I missing something?"

It had been almost two weeks after Tommy and Laurel's engagement party. Since then, Tommy had spending more and more time down in the Foundry with them. Oliver didn't mind, since Tommy never got in the way—and it was nice to have his best friend know what he was really doing. Diggle certainly didn't mind either, since he appreciated the comedic relief that Tommy often provided. Felicity didn't have a problem with it either for the most part. Unless Tommy started to get annoying. It seemed Tommy had reached his threshold.

"Your best friend is an asshole," Felicity bit out. She stabbed at her keyboard again, causing the whole desk to shake. Oliver crossed the room and put his hands on her shoulders, pulling her back from the monitors slightly.

Of course, Tommy didn't help matters by laughing outright. That only made Felicity shoot him a dark glare; clearly, she wasn't amused at all. Digg was wise enough to get up and cross to the other side of the Foundry so that Felicity couldn't see him laughing.

"Explain," Oliver said with a sigh. He felt like he was refereeing a couple of children.

Felicity and Tommy sat in complete silence for several long moments. Felicity kept glaring at him, while Tommy tilted his head forward, indicating that Felicity should be the one to explain. Oliver sighed a hand and scrubbed a hand over his face. Meanwhile, across the Foundry, Digg could no longer hide his laughter. Felicity barely spared him a glare before she spun around in her chair to face Oliver.

"Tommy wants to plan a birthday party for me," she snapped.

"Uh…" Oliver looked over at Tommy, who hid his face behind his hands in an effort to keep Felicity from seeing his grin. "And that's bad because…?"

Felicity threw her hands up into the air. "We have too much to do!" she exploded as she pushed her chair back from Oliver. She jumped up and began to pace across the small space between her desk and Oliver's work station. She had shed her high heels hours ago, and her bare feet padded against the cement floor. Oliver found it to be completely adorable.

"We have to figure out what the whole point of the list is, and what it all leads to. And you know I have scans going all over the city, so we can look at any other criminal activity that we need to track. We have to be aware of these things! Not to mention the fact that we're trying to pull off the biggest wedding of the year in only a few months—a wedding that's for _you_ , by the way, Tommy Merlyn. There is absolutely no time to plan a birthday party for me!"

Tommy held his hands up. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble," he said. He sounded mostly sincere, but he was still having trouble hiding the laughter in his voice. "I was just thinking that we could have one of the VIP rooms at Verdant and—"

Now Oliver could see where Felicity had gotten annoyed. She didn't mid going to events and parties for their friends and family. When it came to herself, however, Felicity didn't really enjoy making a big spectacle out of everything. She would much rather have a low key night at home, and Oliver knew that it would be the same when it came to her birthday. She had been like that ever since they had been children.

"Felicity, calm down," Oliver said. Naturally, that sentence seemed to have the opposite effect, and she huffed angrily at him. Oliver barely managed not to roll his eyes. Instead, he turned towards Tommy and said, "Why don't we just have a dinner at the mansion? You, me, Digg, Laurel, and Thea. We can make it an easy night."

Once again, Tommy got that irritatingly smug look on his face. Oliver couldn't help but wonder if he had fallen into some sort of trap. "Okay," Tommy agreed quickly. "I'll call up Felicity's favorite Italian restaurant and have them cater it. You won't have to worry about anything, Oliver."

With that, Tommy pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number (probably Thea), and started talking into it in a low and rapid voice. He practically ran out of the Foundry, so neither Felicity or Oliver could corner him. Felicity cursed under her breath before she declared that she taking a walk. She followed Tommy out of the Foundry, leaving Oliver to stare after her in confusion.

"What the hell just happened?" Oliver demanded.

Digg, who had deemed it safe to cross to the side of the room that Oliver occupied once again, shook his head. "Felicity is feeling frustrated and she took it out on Tommy."

"Why? What happened?" Oliver couldn't hold back the urgency or alarm that he felt. Felicity was typically the most level-headed one of all of them. If she was frustrated, Oliver normally would have been able to pick up on the cues.

"She's just upset that she hasn't been able to come up with anything more about the list over the past couple of weeks," Diggle revealed. "You've had the whole thing with the Dark Archer, but we've been trying to keep up with the rest of the crime in the city and… I think it's all just getting to her a little bit."

Oliver sighed and closed his eyes. They had run into a dead end with the list and the Dark Archer. Oliver couldn't help but feel that the two were connected, but he had no concrete evidence yet. He was surprised that Felicity had been hiding this feeling of frustration from him, however. She was normally much more open with him, and it was a little unnerving to know that she had been closing herself off.

Digg seemed to sense his train of thought. "And it probably doesn't help that you keep sending her mixed signals."

"What?" Oliver's voice was sharp as he swiveled his head towards his friend. He wasn't comfortable with people knowing about whatever was going on between him and Felicity, since Oliver wasn't quite sure what was happening himself. There were too many… _feelings_. All he felt were things that he couldn't put a name to, and he wanted to figure it out with Felicity before any of their friends found out about it.

Of course, he knew that Tommy and Thea knew. God knew that Oliver and Felicity had never been able to keep a secret from the two of them. He wasn't surprised that Digg had picked up on it, as well. He always quietly observed, and it was obvious that the dynamic had changed between Oliver and Felicity.

They tried to keep it hidden, but it was hard. Oliver wanted to be near Felicity all the time, and he had no idea how she was feeling, but it wasn't like she was going out of her way to avoid him. It didn't help that Tommy was trying to plan something, and it was clear that Thea was involved as well.

"You know what I'm talking about," Digg said with a sigh. "It's obvious that you like her, man. And she… well, you know how Felicity is." It wasn't Digg's place to tell Oliver about Felicity's true feelings for him. "If you're not ready to be with her, don't keep jerking her around."

"I'm not—" Oliver began, but he stopped when Digg sent him a pointed look. He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his hair.

Digg looked annoyingly superior as he crossed his arms and leaned against the desk. "When are you going to admit to yourself that you're in love with her?"

Oliver immediately opened his mouth to protest, but stopped. Those feelings would always hover around in the back of his mind, for longer than he wanted to admit. They had been young, and she had been sixteen years old when Oliver had realized for the first time that his feelings had been less than platonic.

He had been with Laurel on and off then at that point, which only made him feel even guiltier about his growing feelings for Felicity. Years passed, and then we ended up stuck on that island. He had gone through things on that island that he still refused to let himself think about. It had been thinking about his friends and family—Tommy, Thea, and Felicity especially—that led him hold on to at least a little bit of the man he had been before the accident.

Felicity deserved more than a broken man who felt so guilty about what his family had done, he spent his time running around the city in green leather, acting as a vigilante. She deserved someone whole, someone who was able to love her and not bring darkness into her life. Oliver wasn't ever sure that he could be that person, but he was desperate to have her in his life. It had been why he had latched on to her so strongly when they were children. She was his ray of light, and she always had been.

"I don't know if I can love like that," Oliver admitted.

Digg shook his head once again, and there was an amused smile on his lips. "Man, don't you know? You already do."

* * *

 **forty-seven.**

Tommy was pacing back and forth by the time Oliver showed up at the Merlyn mansion. It was early, just about three o'clock in the morning. Oliver was on high alert, and he supposed that it was a good thing that he was able to operate at full capacity without much sleep.

Of course, he would be this alert anyway, given that Tommy had called him in a panic before the sun had even risen.

"Alright, Tommy," Oliver said quietly. "What's going on?"

Tommy looked like he was about to lose it. Ever since he had found out about Oliver's secret, he had been waiting for this moment. Everyone had their breaking point, and Oliver suspected that his friends were all going to find theirs soon.

Tommy's voice came out in a rush, with hardly a pause between words. "It's bad, man. I mean, really bad. I had no idea that this was going on, and I'm sorry, because I feel like everything is just one big lie—"

"Whoa, Tommy." Oliver reached out and grabbed Tommy by the shoulders, forcing him to stop his pacing just as he passed by him once again. "You have to relax, man. Talk to me."

Taking a deep breath, Tommy ran shaking hands through his hair. "Just… follow me."

With that cryptic statement, Oliver followed Tommy into the mansion. They bypassed the main rooms and headed for the basement. Oliver wasn't surprised when Tommy revealed a hidden hallway; the mansions were typically built with those. He figured Malcolm had them put in, just as he knew that his own parents had several secret passages and rooms in the Queen mansion.

At the end of the hallway, Tommy pressed on a rock in a specific spot on the wall. A panel slid back, revealing a touch screen prompting the people looking for entrance with the proper access. Tommy looked over his shoulder at Oliver, his eyes unreadable, before he placed his palm on the screen. A door slid open.

When Oliver first walked into the room, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him.

It was like his own setup under Verdant, minus all the computers that Felicity had set up. There were weapons of all sorts and sizes everywhere, but the most prominently displayed one was a bow and arrows… along with the Dark Archer's outfit.

"Tommy…" Oliver wasn't sure if he would be able to hear anything over the sound of his pulse thundering in his ears. "What the hell is this?"

"I don't know, man, okay?" Tommy exclaimed as he threw his hands up in the air. "I don't know! Ever since you saved my dad at that stupid award ceremony, he's been acting weird. I finally got fed up with it and followed him down here, just to see where he would go. I only went as far as the basement and saw him come into this passageway." Tommy sank to the floor and put his head in his hands. "I didn't want him to catch me, so I went back upstairs. But when he left the next day, I came down. I figured that there was no way he would be in just an empty hallway. It took some time to find the stone that opened the access panel, but I did. I didn't know if my prints would work, but…"

"They did," Oliver finished for him. Sighing heavily, he ran his hands through his hair and sat on the floor next to his closest and oldest friend. "Malcolm probably had it set for you. He wanted you to find this."

"Do you think so?" Tommy asked. "I mean, why would he?" A bitter laugh escaped him. "Other than the fact that my father is apparently a complete psycho."

"I'm getting the feeling that Malcolm knows a hell of a lot more than we think he does." Oliver didn't like thinking that Malcolm knew his identity, and knew that Felicity, Digg, and Tommy were working with him. Now that they knew that Malcolm was really the Dark Archer, however, it was becoming more and more likely.

"I'm sorry, Oliver," Tommy whispered. "I had no idea…"

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "How could you? Before I was trapped on the island, I had no idea that my parents were apparently involved with some of the words people in the city. I guess that includes your dad, too." He reached out and clapped his hand on Tommy's shoulder. "This isn't your fault, Tommy. You have to know that."

Tommy took a deep, shuddering breath before he climbed back to his feet. Oliver stood as well, and he cast a look at the Dark Archer's gear before he turned his back on it. Together, Tommy and Oliver left Malcolm Merlyn's secret lair.

"So," Tommy finally said. His voice was lighter in an attempt to lessen some of the tension that was still lingering in the air. "Does this mean that I'm kicked out of the super hero secret club?"

That, finally, got Oliver to chuckle. He slung an arm around Tommy's shoulders and ruffled his hair, just as he did when they were kids. "Dude, of course not. I need someone to back me up against Felicity and Digg, after all."

* * *

 **forty-eight.**

So much was swirling through Felicity's brain. She couldn't believe that Malcolm Merlyn was actually the Dark Archer, though it did explain quite a few things. Oliver had warned them all that Malcolm probably knew they were working with him, and they were all to be on alert for a while.

At least Felicity now knew why Malcolm had seemed extra creepy when he had been asking her questions.

Oliver was convinced that Malcolm had wanted Tommy to know. He didn't think that Tommy was in any danger, but he still had both Felicity and Diggle monitoring Tommy and Laurel's apartment, just in case.

She felt bad for them. Felicity couldn't imagine what Tommy was going through, especially since the Dark Archer had been able to get into Oliver's head. Malcolm had clearly gone off the deep end after Tommy's mother had died, and it was obvious that Tommy felt some sort of responsibility for not being the one to pull his father back.

He and Laurel should have been happy. They were in the middle of planning their wedding, and they were going to get married soon. They deserved to finally have some happiness in their lives after all the loss they had been through. Felicity resolved that she would not let Malcolm Merlyn ruin this happiness for them.

She had also decided that she was going to do whatever it took to keep Malcolm away from them. She had seen how it had affected Oliver when the Dark Archer had defeated him the first few times. She remembered his reaction when they were discussing the League of Assassins. It all had him rattled, and Felicity refused to let him fall down that black hole once again.

On this particular night, though, Felicity was craving some normalcy. Oliver had ordered them all away from the lair, claiming that they all needed some time to get their heads back on straight. She knew that meant he would be working out and training in the basement of Verdant, probably until he passed out from exhaustion.

After making sure that Digg would check on him just so Oliver wouldn't hurt himself, Felicity had decided to go the Queen mansion and seek out Thea. They were long overdue for a girl's night, and Felicity missed her best friend.

Thea smiled as pulled open the door. "I had a feeling that you were going to show up. I got Raisa to make us some pizza."

"Oh, you're the best!" Felicity exclaimed. She accepted the glass of wine that Thea handed her and grinned. "You're my hero, Thea Queen."

That made Thea laugh. "Don't let Oliver hear you say that. I'd hate for him to get jealous."

There was something knowing in Thea's tone, something that struck a nerve in Felicity. She narrowed her eyes and took a long sip of her wine—she had a feeling that she was going to need it. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Thea blinked innocently at Felicity. "It's just, you know Oliver. He's the jealous type… especially when it comes to you."

"No, he's not," Felicity mumbled. She had a feeling that hadn't been what Thea had been referring to, but she decided to let it go. Thea had been dropping cryptic comments like that for weeks now, and Felicity was going to get to the bottom of it sooner or later. She just didn't have the energy to tackle that right now.

Whipping her phone out of her pocket of her jeans, Thea unlocked it and brandished it in Felicity's face. "He totally is. Or do I need to show you the picture of the two of you that was taken at Tommy and Laurel's engagement party?"

Felicity snatched the phone away from Thea and stared in disbelief at the picture that was being displayed for her. "Why do you have this on your phone?" she demanded. She refused to acknowledge that she found the picture to be incredibly hot, and she was embarrassed to find herself getting all hot and bothered.

"I'm having it framed for you. Duh."

"Thea Queen! You wouldn't dare."

Grinning brightly, Thea took the phone back from Felicity. "It's already done, Lis. Just go with it."

"Ugh. I hate you." The words weren't said with any real conviction, and Felicity took another sip of her wine. She had wanted normalcy tonight, and she certainly got it; what was more normal than having Thea get on her nerves?

"It will be delivered within the next few days," Thea said cheerfully.

"Great," Felicity murmured. "I'm going to have to hide it from Oliver."

Still laughing, Thea got the pizza from Raisa and then came back into the living room, where she turned on a movie. Pulling a plate of pizza towards her, Felicity settled into the fluffy couch and dug in.

For those two hours, it was just like any other movie night that Felicity and Thea had had in the past. They ate way too much pizza, drank a lot of wine, and broke out the ice cream. They recited the lines to their favorite chick flicks and laughed at scenes they had seen a million times.

Once the movie was over, Thea set aside the empty ice cream carton and filled their wine glasses once again. Felicity watched, waiting patiently for Thea to say whatever she needed to get off her chest.

"So." Thea handed the full wine glass to Felicity. Despite the buzz they both had, there was serious note in Thea's voice that made Felicity pay attention. She took a long pull from the wine glass and waited.

Thea took a deep breath. "I know."

Felicity's brow furrowed. In that moment, she truly had no idea what Thea was talking about. "Know what?"

"I know about you and Oliver and Diggle and Tommy… and what you do in the basement."

"Um." Felicity blinked. "What?"

"I know that Oliver is like, the Arrow, or whatever?"

Despite Felicity's complete shock at what Thea had just revealed to her, she jerked back in surprise. "Wait, hang on. The Arrow? Since when have they started calling him the Arrow?"

Thea shrugged her shoulders and drank from her own wine glass, gulping until at least half of it was gone. "I don't know. I read it on Twitter, I think. It's a hashtag now."

"Oh, Oliver is just going to love that," Felicity mumbled to herself. She couldn't help but think that Oliver's reaction to finding out his new name was a trending hashtag on Twitter would be less than amused, and the thought made Felicity smile. Then she remembered what, exactly, had prompted the reveal of that new name. "Hang on. So you know that Oliver is the vigilante? Since when?"

"Since forever," Thea said. "Well, not since the very beginning. But since you've started helping, definitely. And then when Tommy stopped being such an ass, I really knew that I was right. You're all terrible at keeping secrets, you know."

"But, how… Why…" Felicity trailed off, unsure of how to continue. Instead of asking one of the hundred questions that were now bouncing around in her mind, she said, "I take it Oliver still has no idea that you know?"

"He doesn't," Thea confirmed. "He can be pretty oblivious when he wants to be." She sent her best friend a pointed look, which Felicity promptly ignored.

"You have to tell him, you know," Felicity said. "I mean… we're involved with some pretty heavy stuff. If you know, and someone found out… I don't want to think about what could happen."

Thea snorted and gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Please, Felicity. You know that I can take care of myself."

"Come on, Thea. Being good at a few self-defense classes is so not the same as dealing with the kind of shit Oliver and Digg have to face when they patrol the streets in Starling."

"Well…" Thea finally looked sheepish as she shifted on the couch and took another sip of wine. "Okay, so I might not only be taking self-defense classes."

Felicity's eyes narrowed. "Oh really?"

"Really. I may or may not be also learning jujitsu… among other things."

Felicity drained the rest of the wine in her glass and tilted her head back against the couch. "I can't be the only normal one out of all of us. It's just not possible."

"Says the super hacker," Thea pointed out. "If anyone is normal, it'd be Tommy. Which is kind of a depressing thought, to be completely honest."

* * *

 **forty-nine.**

Malcolm had completely dropped off of the face of the earth, and they were still at a dead end with the list. That gave Oliver and Digg extra time to start going after the crime that plagued Starling City in general. Oliver found that he was stopping robberies and shootings most nights, and he couldn't deny that there was a certain amount of satisfaction that came from leaving those guys for the police to arrest.

That also meant that there was more time for Thea to continue planning Tommy and Laurel's wedding, which meant she had roped Felicity into it, as well. Despite Felicity's insistence that Thea needed to tell Oliver that she knew what was going on, Thea continued to keep her mouth shut. She put the final details on Laurel and Tommy's wedding, all while planning Felicity's birthday party with the help of Tommy.

"You'll have to wear a dress, you know," Thea said. "I mean, obviously it's not going to be black tie, since you won't let me invite anyone other than who we actually know. And we don't need to do any kind of, like, clubbing dresses, because it's just going to be a quiet dinner at the mansion." That made Thea roll her eyes. "But you still have to look hot, okay?"

"Jesus, Thea." Felicity tapped away at her tablet, only half-paying attention to what Thea was prattling on about. She was trying to multiple stolen credit cards that were being used in an identity theft ring. "I don't really have time to pick a dress out for the party that I didn't even ask for."

"Please, like I would let you pick the dress? When have I ever let you pick the dress, Felicity Smoak?"

"That's true." Finally having success with one of the credit cards, Felicity texted the hit to Oliver and Digg. She set her tablet aside and sat up on Thea's bed, which she had been lounging on. "So, have you thought about when you're going to tell Oliver?"

"Tell Oliver what?" Tommy asked as he entered Thea's bedroom. The two of them were in party-planning mode. Really, if they used their combined powers for good, they would probably be able to take over the world.

"That I know he's the Arrow," Thea stated nonchalantly.

Felicity choked on the air she was breathing. "Thea!"

"What? I already knew that Tommy knew. And Tommy knows that I know, too."

Tommy nodded his head and sent Felicity a guilty look. "I did know. She talked to me two days ago. Wanted to know how I handled finding out about your secret little superhero club."

"I told you to stop calling it that," Felicity grumbled under her breath. She sighed, then, and stared her two friends down.

They had been through so much ever since the Queen's Gambit had sunk. Before Oliver's disappearance, they had barley acknowledged each other; Thea was getting involved with partying too much, and Felicity had only barely tolerated Tommy as Oliver's annoying friend.

After it had been announced that the Queen's Gambit had sunk and there were supposedly no survivors, the three of them had come together. The bonds that had formed between Thea, Felicity, and Tommy (and somewhat with Laurel, by extension) were deep and strong. They had experienced horrible pain and loss together, and that sadness had given way to the best friendships that Felicity had ever had.

She remembered the night that Thea and Tommy had shown up at her place. It had been three days since Oliver and Robert's funerals, and it was the worst three days of her life. It seemed like they had never left, after that.

 _Felicity wasn't sure that there were any tears left to cry._

 _Once the reality had set in and Felicity had realized that Oliver was never coming home, she had had a complete breakdown that no one had been witness to. There had been no one to comfort her—that had always been Oliver's job. Felicity was always open and bubbly and always said what was on her mind, but Oliver was one of the only people that she ever showed her true feelings to._

 _Being faced with the reality that he was truly gone was too much to take. So after that breakdown, Felicity had simply shut down. She had gone to the funeral, she had sat with Thea at that stupid dinner, and she had grieved. It seemed like she was dreaming, and it felt all too real at the same time._

 _There was a knock on the door of the Smoak townhouse. Felicity's father was out, trying to help Moira with everything that was going on since both Robert and Oliver had passed. Being on the board at Queen Consolidated meant that Eli would be busy a lot over the next coming months, and Felicity had accepted that her father wouldn't always be around to comfort her._

 _So Felicity wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and shuffled over the front door. The two people she had found on her front step were certainly not people she had ever expected to see at her door._

 _Thea Queen's eyes were red and puffy, as if she had spent the whole day crying. Tommy Merlyn was pale, and he even looked a little gaunt. These were not the two people that Felicity was used to seeing plastered all over the tabloids: the sixteen year old socialite, and the twenty-two year old playboy. These people were grieving, and Felicity's heart broke for them._

 _"Hi." Felicity's voice was rough, and she cleared her throat. She hadn't really actually talked to anyone since the funeral three days ago._

 _Thea wrapped her arms around herself and managed a watery smile in Felicity's direction, but it was Tommy that actually spoke. "Hey. Can we come in?"_

 _"Of course." Felicity stepped aside, allowing Tommy and Thea to enter. They stood in the living room of the townhouse, staring awkwardly at one another. Naturally, it was Tommy who ended up breaking the silence._

 _"So." He clapped his hands together and tried to smile, though it didn't really reach his eyes. "Does your dad have any vodka around this place? Because I think we need it."_

 _Even in college, Felicity wasn't that big with partying. She tended to focus on her schoolwork more than going out with the few friends she had made. That particular night, however, Felicity knew that she wanted to participate in whatever Tommy had planned._

 _Felicity jerked her head towards the back of the townhouse. "Follow me."_

 _Three hours later, the bottle of vodka was nearly empty, and they were all sprawled out on the floor of her bedroom. They had spent the time taking shots and telling their favorite stories about Oliver. It was strangely cathartic to bond through their grief and then share their favorite memories about Oliver._

 _It helped that they were all completely and totally drunk, as well._

 _"I just miss him, you know?" Tommy tucked his hands behind his head and stared up at Felicity's ceiling. "We did a lot of stupid shit together, but he was always the one to save us before things got too bad, you know?"_

 _Thea snorted and grabbed the bottle of vodka, taking a swig from it. "Oliver did always have a hero complex. He was good at saving people."_

 _"He was," Felicity agreed. Maybe it was the vodka coursing through her system—it was the first time that she had been well and truly drunk, after all. The words that came out of her mouth next couldn't be stopped, even if she wanted to. "I was in love with him, you know? I am in love with him, still."_

 _"We know," Tommy told her. "We've known for, like, ever, Felicity. It's kind of obvious that you're in love with him."_

 _"Obvious to everyone except Oliver, that is," Thea said. She glanced at Felicity and put her hand on her shoulder. "No offense."_

 _"None taken." Felicity accepted the bottle of vodka from Thea and took a large gulp from it. She reached for the can of soda they had brought with them as well, using it chase the burning alcohol. "I just… I never told him. He'll never know. I don't think I can ever forget that."_

 _"He loved you," Thea said, suddenly. "He did."_

 _"It's true," Tommy added. "I don't even know if he realized it yet. But he loved you."_

 _Felicity had no idea what to say to that, but she didn't respond… at least directly. Unexpectedly, tears burned in her eyes and began to spill over before she could even attempt to stop them. Gasping out a shuddering sob, Felicity covered her face with her hands._

 _"I miss him," she admitted. "I miss him so much. And I didn't get to see him before… before he left… and I'll… I can never forgive myself." Each word was punctuated by a sob, and the pain made Felicity's heart clutch in her chest._

 _Tommy reached over and pulled her into her arms. Felicity pressed her face into her chest as she sobbed, and she felt Thea come up behind her and wrap her arms around her._

 _They all cried together. And that was the night that the three of them became inseparable._

"I have a serious question, though," Tommy said. His voice pulled Felicity from one the memories that was one of the worst and the best in her entire life. It was the worse because of all of the pain she had felt; it was the best, because she had gained two amazing friends on that night.

Both Felicity and Thea sighed. They knew that particular tone of voice from Tommy; it meant that he was about to ask a stupid question. While waiting, the two young women shared a look.

"Since when has Oliver been called the Arrow? We can't let him have a cool nickname. It'll totally go to his head."

Thea laughed while Felicity rolled her eyes. "Honestly? That's what you're choosing to focus on right now?"

"What?" Tommy didn't get why Felicity was so annoyed. "You know that I'm right!"

* * *

 **fifty.**

"So I did good, right?"

Felicity studied her reflection in the floor-length mirror of Thea's suite. Her dress was short falling to mid-thigh, with long sleeves and low-cut neckline. It was gold and sparkly and embroidered with flowers, and Felicity loved it. Her hair was full and curly around her shoulders, her eyes were dark and smoky, and she had a bright pop of lipstick. She was finally twenty-four, and for once, she felt confident in who she was.

"You did," Felicity admitted. "I mean…" She twirled in the dress, causing the skirt to float up around her legs. "It's amazing."

Thea was wearing bright pink, strapless dress in honor of Felicity's birthday. Thea claimed that she had had Felicity's birthday dress picked out for months now, but somehow had to wear pink because it was Felicity's favorite color.

"I thought so," Thea mused.

They were all excited for tonight. For once, there was no Team Arrow (as Tommy had started referring to them) drama. No one was thinking about the fact that Malcolm Merlyn was the Dark Archer, or that Thea knew the whole deal with Oliver's secret identity. Tonight was just about celebrating Felicity's birthday, and they were all going to take advantage of the reprieve.

Thea hugged Felicity tightly. "Happy birthday, Lis," she murmured.

Grinning Felicity returned her best friend's hug. "Thanks, Thea. For everything."

Felicity didn't need to elaborate, because Thea already knew what she was talking about. Smiling, Thea squeezed Felicity's shoulders once again.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go downstairs. God only knows that you have to knock my brother's socks off with the way you look in this dress."

"Ha ha," Felicity murmured under her breath. Still, she slipped on her heels and followed Thea down the main staircase of the Queen mansion. All of their friends were waiting at the foot of the stairs, and it made Felicity smile.

She had been serious when she said that she only wanted her closest friends there. As promised, only Thea, Tommy, Laurel, Digg, and Oliver were in attendance. Oliver was holding a bouquet of daises—her favorite.

His eyes were dark and full of something that Felicity wasn't sure she could put a name to as she approached him. He licked his lips and held out the bouquet of flowers to her. Felicity accepted them with a smile, and she didn't miss the way that Oliver's eyes swept up and down her body.

"Happy birthday," Oliver murmured.

A smiled ticked up the corners of Felicity's lips, and she raised the bouquet to her nose, inhaling deeply. "Thank you."

"Alright, come on!" Tommy clapped his hands together. "We have some birthday shots lined up, and they need to be taken immediately."

Laurel rolled her eyes at her future husband. "Aren't we a little old to be starting a dinner with birthday shots?"

"No," Tommy and Thea said at the same time. It made Diggle chuckle, and he was the first to head into the dining room. Felicity's favorite Coldplay album was playing over hidden speakers, and more arrangements of daisies were placed all over the room. Candles casted a soft glow of golden light across the long dining table, and Felicity could smell the food from her favorite Italian restaurant.

Since they had done exactly what she wanted for her birthday, Felicity didn't mind taking some birthday shots. They rounded the table, took their shots of tequila, and then Thea gave their drink orders to the waiter, and they all took their seats at the table.

All in all, Felicity felt that it was a perfect night. The food was delicious, and they had a nice, normal night where they just talked and laughed and had a good time. They had some of Felicity's favorite chocolate cake, the one, the one that Raisa had been baking for her birthday for as long as she could remember.

"Okay, listen." Tommy approached Felicity with a pleading look, and the birthday blonde in question sighed. She had a feeling that she was about to be talked into going out. "We had your quiet birthday dinner at home, and I admit, it was a lot of fun. But can we _please_ go out to Verdant?"

"Why?" Felicity asked. Seeing the way that Tommy huffed in annoyance made Felicity smile. She was really only delaying the inevitable trip to Verdant just to get a rise out of Tommy. It was her birthday. She deserved to have a little fun.

"Because everyone should dance on their birthday!" Tommy exclaimed.

Laurel wrapped her arms around her fiancé's shoulders. "It's true, you know. We should go dancing. It'll be a lot of fun."

"You already know that I'm down to go out, Lis," Thea added. She was checking her reflection in one of the ornate mirrors lining the walls. "I'll even wear this dress to Verdant. I'm pretty sure Roy will like this dress."

Casting a mildly exasperated look towards his younger sister, Oliver only gave a moment to sigh and shake his head. Looking back towards Felicity, he said, "It's your birthday. We can do whatever you want to do."

Digg stretched in his chair. "I'm too old to be going out with all of you, but someone has to make sure that you don't get too stupid."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Digg," Tommy said cheerfully.

"Yeah, we can go out," Felicity finally relented. She grinned at her friends and stood up. "I'm just going to need a few minutes to get ready."

Felicity headed up to one of the guest suites and went into the bathroom, where Thea had stashed her makeup for the night. She touched up her mascara and lip gloss and ran her hand over her hair. She was just finishing up when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Hey." Oliver gave her one of those smiles that just ticked up the corners of his mouth, but it did reach his eyes. It was quickly becoming one of her favorite smiles from him. "Are you sure you really want to go out? I can hold them off if you don't want to go."

Felicity smiled at him and turned around to face him, leaning against the sink. "No, I want to go. It'll be fun."

"Yeah, I think it will be," Oliver admitted. He stepped further into the bathroom with her. "How's your birthday been going?"

"It's perfect," Felicity told him, voicing what she had been thinking all night. "This is the best birthday I've had in years." Her breath caught in her throat, and she looked down at the ground. "In five years, actually."

"Felicity…" The way Oliver said her name might have been her favorite. He tucked his fingers under her chin and tilted her face up towards his. "Why?"

Her heart thudded in her ears. Felicity managed a shaky smile for Oliver. "Isn't it obvious? It's because you're here."

Oliver's mouth dropped open and he went to step back, but Felicity wouldn't let him. She reached forward and caught him by the lapels of his suit jacket, keeping him in place. If he really wanted to, he could have easily broken her grasp and left the bathroom. Felicity took it as a good sign that he didn't.

"When we thought that you were… that you…" Felicity took a deep breath and forced herself to say the word. "When we thought you were dead, I used to wish every year that I would somehow get to see you or talk to you again. I always wanted to apologize for that year that we drifted apart, and it was… it was hard to live with that regret."

Felicity suddenly found herself engulfed in Oliver's arms. He held her tightly, pressing his face into her neck. She could feel his breath shudder through his body, and when he pulled back to look down at her, Felicity saw that his eyes were looking suspiciously misty.

He seemed to be at a loss for words, but that was okay. Felicity had no problem doing the talking. "So by some miracle that I'll never be able to understand, I got my wish. You're here. That makes this the best birthday ever."

An intense heartbeat of silence passed between them, and then suddenly, Oliver's mouth was on hers.

His fingers plunged into her hair, tilting her head back to the best angle so he could slip his tongue into her mouth. He backed her into the sink, pressing his body against hers. Felicity was thankful for the height that her heels provided, since it meant that she didn't need to strain on her tiptoes to reach his lips.

Not that it mattered much, since after a moment, Oliver's hands fell to her hips and he lifted her onto the counter. Felicity parted her thighs further, allowing Oliver to fit his body between them. He pressed even more tightly against her, the contact intimate. It made their kiss even more intense, and Felicity couldn't help the moan that escaped her.

Oliver pulled his lips from hers, only to press him to the throbbing pulse beating in her neck. His teeth scrapped against the delicate skin Felicity gasped and arched into his touch, begging for more.

Through the haze of passion and desire, there was one part of her brain that refused to shut up. As hard as Felicity tried, she couldn't turn that little voice in her head off. So when Oliver lifted his head to kiss her again, Felicity pressed her hands to his chest to hold them off.

"Oliver," she panted. "What the hell are we doing?"

Oliver brought one hand up, brushing his calloused fingers along the curve of her cheek. His eyes were dark and stormy, and filled with a passion so intense that Felicity would have given anything in that moment to know what he was thinking.

"I don't know," Oliver finally said. "But I just can't stay away from you."

And then he kissed her again.

* * *

 **This story definitely isn't over. It's been slow going, for sure, but I'm still very invested in writing this. Thanks for sticking with this story!**


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